Around a quarter of farmland in Ukraine is contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance. The problem concerns not only areas that were occupied by Russian forces, but also Ukrainian-controlled areas that came within artillery range. Demining programmes are focusing on residential areas, not fields. Yet some farmers say they simply can’t afford to miss the spring planting season and are risking their lives by going out to work anyway. Several have already been killed. Our correspondent Gulliver Cragg reports.
Negotiations are currently under way to renew the UN-brokered agreement allowing Ukraine to export its cereals via the Black Sea. Last year, the deal helped the country to export nearly three quarters of what it would in an average year – albeit at a much higher cost – and brought relief to global food markets that are highly dependent on Ukrainian grain. But this year, there's a question mark over how much Ukraine's farmers will be able to produce.
