Many people still think of Ukraine as the breadbasket of Europe or of the former USSR. And indeed, with a third of the world's richest black soil (locally called chernozem), Ukraine was at the turn of the 20th century a world leader in agricultural production.
True chernozem, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia, is black, but there are various gradations into gray and chestnut-brown soils. It forms in areas that have cold winters, hot summers and rapid evaporation of precipitation. Generally only tall grass is found native on chernozem. It has large quantities of nutrients, excellent structure, and good water-holding capacity, making it very suitable for agriculture. It is most widely distributed in Ukraine, where it forms a large part of the good agricultural soil.
In the late 1920s, Stalin and the collectivization of Soviet agriculture eliminated many of the peasant agrarian reforms that the Czarist government had begun as early as 1906 under P.A. Stolypin, who served as Interior minister and prime minister between 1906 and his death in 1911. Even after Stolypin's assassination in Kyiv, reforms during his tenure produced great agricultural harvests and the country was a world leader in grain production into the early 1920s.
While Ukraine contributed greatly to agricultural production to the whole of the USSR, its production potential was severely limited by Soviet agricultural methods and practices. Further, Ukraine's agricultural production, like that of all other production, particularly industrial, fell precipitously in the years following the breakup of the Soviet empire in 1989. It was only at the beginning of the late 1990s that Ukrainian agriculture began to recover and make progress.
Background and purpose
For the past several months, and of late on a somewhat ad hoc basis, I've been attempting to acquire some knowledge and understanding of the present status of the agricultural industry in Ukraine. That knowledge, I believed, would then allow me to form some opinions as to the future potential and importance of the industry to the overall economy of Ukraine. Admittedly, in advance, I was hoping to come to a conclusion that, at least at some point in the future, Ukraine would again be the "breadbasket of Europe" (or of the FSU, Asia, Eurasia, or wherever). In short, I began predisposed to look for and find a happy ending to a story or stories on agriculture in Ukraine. My research continues. I plan more articles on the subject as I discover more.
I am presently in the middle of my studies. Beginning with little knowledge or background in farming in Ukraine or of the agricultural industry in general, I have not yet reached the point where I can draw conclusions. While I've interviewed many in the industry, including professionals, academics and some in government, I must continue my education. As yet, my shortcomings I fear lie in the area of how it all works together. This is partly caused by not having spent enough time analyzing statistical information, laws and regulations, governmental subsidies that may exist and agricultural loan programs.
I have, however, seen some bright spots, and I've met a lot of interesting, talented and dedicated people. As I progress, I'll try to bring some of their stories and experiences together.
No-Till Agriculture Conference
I saw a truly remarkable event occur between November 18 and 23 at the Agro-Soyuz Corporation's agricultural facility headquarters in Dnipropetrovsk region. A conference, "NT-CA, Sustainable and Effective Agriculture" was held at the site. This was an international conference to educate Ukrainians and others concerning the benefits of a no-till systems approach to profitable and environmentally sound farming.
Before discussing no-till farming, I'll describe what I felt was most remarkable about the event. First, it was a gathering of approximately 600 participants, each of whom paid $300 to attend, plus the cost of their food and lodging in nearby Dnipropetrovsk. Most of the registrants were from Ukraine and Russia, which had 280 and 200 participants respectively. Kazakhstan was well represented with 70 participants and the others were from a number of other countries including Belarus and Armenia.
The quality of the international experts, with their years of knowledge, expertise and practical experience was also impressive. Speakers came from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay. Some of the experts were academics, some came from government and research institutes, and others were farmers with advanced degrees. All had extensive practical farming experience and most provided lectures on very specialized subjects.
The facilities provided by Agro-Soyuz were superb from any standpoint one could imagine. Located on a farm, the infrastructure was truly impressive. The 9,000-hectare farm had fields dedicated to various crops, a large grain-storage facility, a swine operation, a dairy herd and even an experimental ostrich farm. The campus also boasts a 124-hectare Concept Farm, where a nine-crop rotation system is being studied over a 10-year period. Agro-Soyuz has also operated a Farm Resources Center for several years, where farming applications are both studied and taught. The teaching is mostly through inexpensive or free seminars for Ukrainians as well as for those who come from throughout the world.
For the international conference, a new office building and teaching facility was built. It contains classrooms, an auditorium, telecommunications and Internet connections, and audiovisual systems. In addition, the center has a complete press facility with all that visiting journalists might require.
No-Till Farming
No-till farming has been around for several decades. Its use has rapidly spread for the last decade. No-till brings biological and environmental considerations to the farming process, as it helps prevent soil erosion, helps retain soil fertility and moisture. It also requires fewer and more environmentally safe fertilizers and chemicals, resulting in greater crop yields. It is profitable partly because it saves labor, because there is little need to repeat plowing and furrowing. Other benefits include a "greenhouse effect" benefit, in that less carbon dioxide is released.
Though no-till is used throughout the world, it has not gained much popularity in Europe and Asia. My understanding is that it might wreak havoc with governmental processes in Western Europe, where farming is heavily subsidized and EU-regulated. In many other countries however, no-till has taken root and is expanding. In the United States along, no-till farmining is practiced on 22.4 million hectares, or more than 19 percent of all agricultural land. More than 45 percent of Brazil's agricultural land uses no-till methods, and in Paraguay, no-till usage has reached 60 percent of that country's farmland.
In Ukraine, Agro-Soyuz and other companies are the European pioneers in the application of no-till cultivation. The methods may help Ukraine regain its status as a "breadbasket" nation.
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