Safe Hectares: The Demining Compensation Program Shows Initial Results.

According to the state program for compensation for the demining of agricultural land, the first thousand hectares have been returned to productive use, reported Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Ihor Bezkaravainyi.

Recently, more than 35 thousand hectares of land have been returned to productive use. Inspections of potentially contaminated areas with explosive objects are being carried out, as well as clearing land from mines, shells, and debris. Despite the slowing down of work during the winter period, inspected land is actively being monitored, reported Ukrinform.

'As a result, we have crossed the mark of 1000 hectares of agricultural land that have been cleared and returned to operation within the framework of the compensation program. These fields can already be sown, and in the autumn – harvested,' noted Bezkaravainyi.

Bezkaravainyi stated that the program is open to all agricultural producers who operate legally, pay taxes correctly, and have no ties with Russia. Applications for demining contaminated plots are accepted through the State Agricultural Register.

'After that, the plot is verified, confirming the fact of its contamination, an approximate estimate of the demining cost is determined, and this 'lot' is put up on Prozorro. Operators of demining activities - private companies (mostly Ukrainian) - compete for the right to receive the contract. The funds provided by the program are kept in a special escrow account in the bank. Neither the agricultural producer nor the auction winner, with whom a contract has been concluded for the performance of works, has access to them,' Bezkaravainyi explained the funding mechanism of the program.

When the work is completed, the plot is inspected, and a quality certificate is provided, the funds are transferred to the account of the demining operator.

However, many agricultural producers are still unaware of this program and do not understand its algorithm, noted Bezkaravainyi. Therefore, there are many erroneous applications in the register.

'The vast majority of completed work is the verification of applications. This has hindered the implementation of the program. Therefore, we are now improving the program to reduce the number of erroneous applications. We are also preparing a large informational and explanatory campaign and training materials, as the demand for such work is enormous,' added the Deputy Minister, noting that this year 2.5 billion hryvnias are allocated for program financing.