The Croatian government at its Monday meeting donated EUR 1 million to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to help Ukrainian farmers and food producers reopen in regions most affected by explosive remnants of war.

As reported on the WFP website on Monday, the agreement was signed by Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman and Acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Matthew Hollingworth in the presence of First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko.

"The project aims to survey productive agricultural land for the presence of mines and other explosives, demine it where necessary, and release it safely to restore food production and support the livelihoods of rural communities. The project will also extend support to farmers in rehabilitating soils and re-establishing their agricultural production once the lands are deemed safe," it said.

The work is already underway in Kharkiv region with plans to expand to Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. The project is designed and implemented in close coordination with the Government of Ukraine as well as local authorities to ensure complementarity in action and directly support the Government's demining efforts.

"The Ukrainian government has identified demining as one of the five key priorities for the country's rapid recovery, as it concerns the safety of people, restoration of fully operational agricultural enterprises, and the establishment of food supply chains. We are actively collaborating with our international partners to launch a humanitarian demining market in Ukraine, procure specialized equipment, train deminers, certify private demining operators, and establish local production," Svyrydenko said.

She also said that the funds raised under the joint Memorandum with Croatia and the UN partners will be used for surveying and clearing contaminated lands, which potentially amount to 174,000 square kilometres in Ukraine.

"During our meeting, we emphasized the critical importance of mine action in restarting economic and social activities in Ukraine. Understanding the pressing need to address the challenges posed by mines and explosive remnants of war, we reiterate our dedication to working hand in hand to bring about positive change in the affected regions," the Foreign Minister of Croatia said.

Hollingworth said that Croatia's experience in conducting successful, large scale demining operations "makes it a proven leader in humanitarian demining and an invaluable partner to help release land for Ukraine's farmers, who desperately want to resume work and feed their families and communities."

Croatia will host the International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine on October 11-12 in Zagreb. The conference will be a platform to mobilize additional international support and resources for demining initiatives in Ukraine.