by PressGross grain harvest in Ukraine as an indicator of progress in agriculture
Gross grain harvest in Ukraine: dynamics of changes for the independence period
Agriculture in Ukraine, as it was for 30 years, and as it is today — this is a completely different level. During this time the market has grown considerably, improved approaches and is actively developing. And changes can be seen not only in increased exports, emergence of large domestic producers and arrival of foreign holdings. Everything becomes much clearer if we analyze the gross grain harvest in Ukraine since 1991 up to the present moment.
For example, at the very dawn of independence, the indicator in the crop sector was 38.7 million tons, and in 2019, which was a record for grain production, the volume reached the mark of 75.1 million tons. Analysts hope that this season local farmers will be able to exceed this figure, especially since the weather conditions are still positive.
Ukrainian agrarians have managed to increase their crop yields for 30 years. For example, in 1991 2.65 tons of grain was harvested per hectare, and last year — 4.25 tons. It should be noted separately that the yield of sunflower — it is the highest in the world.
Every year the Ukrainian agricultural market is becoming more and more attractive for investment, both for domestic and foreign investors. Thanks to investments in the segment, specialists improve technologies, use new techniques, which help to increase yields. There is a growth in the amount of fertilizer, for example, nitrogen fertilizers are used 1.92 million tons, compared to 1.86 million tons previously. In addition, there is the use of micro and biostimulants, which accelerate plant growth and help improve the quality of the soil. In addition, farmers take care to preserve and increase the fertility of the land, enriching it with nutrients.
Progress is also seen in other sectors, such as the vegetable and horticultural sectors. Although the area of plantations has decreased over several decades, the production volume remains at the level of 1990. For the last 5 years, Ukraine has been growing more than 2 million tons of fruit and berries, and in 1991 the figure was 1.5 million tons. Vegetables are produced at 9.7 million tons, compared to 5.9 million tons.
Unfortunately, the livestock sector is not developing as intensively. There are many problems here. Over 30 years, the number of livestock has decreased several times, which affected the volume of production. Despite the difficulties, there are positive moments in the sphere — average milk yield per cow has increased up to 6,6 thousand kg per year. In 1990 the figure was at the level of 3 thousand kg. All this indicates progress, even if not as fast as we would like.