Around this time of year, Yaroslav Andrushko would normally oversee the sowing of crops on his 1,000-hectare farm in the Vinnytsya region of central Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
Instead, he changed his work clothes into a uniform, enlisting in the army a day after the Russian invasion of his country. “Once a farmer forever a farmer,” said Andrushko, chief executive of a small agricultural company. “But circumstances forced us to take up arms.”
As Ukrainians resist the military machine of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the 36-year-old is another example of the resilience shown by so many of his compatriots in defending their nation’s statehood. However, Andrushko and farmers like him are also defending a key component of the increasingly endangered global food supply chain.
Ukraine is the largest producer of sunflower oil in the world and is among the top six exporters of wheat, corn, chicken and even honey. The money it earns from agriculture – $ 28 billion last year – is now more vital because of the war effort and the more critical products for a world where record prices are raising food security concerns.
Egypt and Turkey, which rely on Russian and Ukrainian grain, are battling dizzying inflation. The Cairo government is considering raising the price of subsidized bread for the first time in four decades. Sunflower oil shortages in Europe, meanwhile, are forcing suppliers to look for alternatives. Supermarkets across the UK limit the amount of cooking oil that customers can buy.
This, in turn, sends vegetable oil prices soaring as far as India, where street vendors are steaming food instead of frying it. There is also increased demand for palm oil, which has been accused of causing deforestation.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia, which is itself a major exporter of agricultural products, was deliberately targeting agricultural land by planting landmines in the fields and destroying equipment and storage facilities. The allegations were backed by European Union Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, who said the bloc would seek to help Ukrainian farmers.
Not only is the country increasingly unable to export because transit routes have been disrupted, but Ukraine must maintain more limited product supplies to ensure its survival, Ukraine’s agriculture minister said last month.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin reiterated the warnings on April 20 after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, who was on his way to Washington. “There is a clear goal of creating a food crisis at the height of the energy crisis, as well as waging an immoral and unjust war in Ukraine itself,” Martin said.
The Russian military has consistently stated that it is not targeting civilian installations, despite widespread evidence to the contrary. His limited retreat from Kyiv means farmers can plant in previously occupied areas such as Chernihiv, but the yields of some of Ukraine’s most important crops could still be cut in half this year.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of agriculture for Ukraine, which bears the nickname “Europe’s bread basket” because of its rich, black, fertile soil that is ideal for cultivation. Agriculture accounted for more than 10% of Ukraine’s economy and 40% of its pre-war export sales. Farmers are exempted from military service in order to ensure the continuation of the industry.
A former conscript, Andrushko decided to enlist anyway, believing that his workers could continue to plant and harvest. Indeed, he was relatively lucky. His farm grows wheat, corn, sunflowers and apples in an area that has so far survived the fighting, although the money is running out and fuel supply has been cut off, he said.
The war has already destroyed part of Ukraine’s decades-long progress in upgrading its agricultural industry. Its wheat harvest in 2021 was the largest since the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades earlier. Eventually, farmers will have to rebuild and rid their land of shellfish and chemical pollution.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has warned of “potentially catastrophic” environmental impacts, including the cause of bad drinking water, chemical spills and floods.
“You have to restore supply networks, you have to get people back and get the necessary capital back to restore production,” said Oleg Nivievskyi, an assistant professor at the Kiev School of Economics. “To return to previous levels of exports I would say it will take two to three years. This is what the farmers themselves say to themselves.”
At present, only small quantities of grain and other products are transported by train, as Russia has blocked Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and bombed vital infrastructure. Ukraine is asking Europe to provide river barges and lorries so that reduced exports can continue to flow.
“Countries with low incomes and food shortages are always more vulnerable,” said Laura Wellesley, a senior researcher at Chatham House in London, speaking on the effects of the April 13 conflict. “But low-income households, all economies around the world are already experiencing financial insecurity of households and food insecurity.”
Prices were already at record levels due to high energy prices and logistics problems as the global economy recovers from the pandemic, and now countries such as Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Moldova and Serbia have imposed restrictions on exports of some food.
Russia, meanwhile, continues to export grain to some of its biggest customers, even as shipping costs skyrocket and some traders try to avoid Russian goods. He may even start some new businesses. Israel, which often buys from Ukraine, bought some Russian wheat last month, according to Geneva-based crop data firm Agflow.
In Europe, farmers used to complain about the cheaper Ukrainian food imports coming to market. The EU is now delaying rules aimed at making agriculture greener, including postponing planned pesticide restrictions. It also plans to free up nearly 4 million hectares of unused land to plant more cash crops.
“What is happening in Ukraine is going to change our whole approach and our view of the future of agriculture,” EU Commissioner Wojciechowski said on March 17. “We must implement a policy that guarantees food security.”
For Andrushko in central Ukraine, the challenge is more immediate. Although his company’s land has not been affected by the war, the impact of cut-off supply chains is making it difficult to continue farming. He urgently needs fuel to keep his business afloat, he said by telephone, declining to reveal his exact location due to military security.
The agricultural company used to ship its apples via Russia to Uzbekistan, but is now trying to deliver them via a longer and more expensive route via the Balkans and Turkey. And this while serving his homeland: “I did what my honor demands”.
All over the world, countries dependent on sunflower oil and feed Ukraine are trying to find alternative supplies. Companies are rushing to replace sunflower oil
Source: Capital
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