Almost third of Nibulon's land bank mined - top manager
Some 30% of the land bank of Nibulon (Mykolaiv), one of the largest operators of the Ukrainian grain market, has been mined, Mykhailo Rizak, the director for government relations and sustainable development of the land trader, said.
"In two months - from April to May - we cleared 1,500 hectares, returned them to operational activities. We are moving towards expanding the scope of demining certification: technical demining, clearing the war zone, machine demining," he said during briefing on the impact of Russian aggression on Ukraine's environment at the Media Center in Kyiv on Thursday.
At the same time, Rizak called expensive mine-clearing equipment a big problem, noting that it is impossible to develop this area without grant assistance.
"We appeal to all donors in Ukraine and try to explain: it is the farmer who has received the status of a mine action operator that is the subject who is most interested in quick and effective mine clearance," Nibulon's top manager described the situation.
At the same time, Rizak explained that Nibulon received such an operator status to help farming, "This is not a business for us, but a humanitarian mission."
According to him, the owners of land do not have funds for demining, which is several thousand dollars per ha, and the price of the land itself is from $1,000 to $2,000 per hectare.
"In that case, it's cheaper to buy mine-free land," he stated.
According to Stanyslav Shum, the CEO of Top Lead, who presented at a briefing its study on the impact of Russian aggression on the environment of Ukraine, 30% of the territory has been mined in the country since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, which, in particular, is equal to two territories of Austria or eight - Israel. According to the study, it will take about 30 years to clear the land of the country.
At the same time, Rizak suggested that the demining of agricultural land would be faster.
Describing Nibulon's losses from Russian aggression, Rizak also drew attention to the loss of river ports due to the explosion of the dam of Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.