In 2023, the area of land under grain crops will be reduced by 45% compared to last year, and their harvest will be 50-60% lower than pre-war levels. Such a preliminary forecast was voiced by experts of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, according to agronews.ua.
The reasons for such a reduction are attributed to the decrease in all areas of land cultivation, changes in crop structures and a decrease in grain crop yields.
"In addition, the lack of funding and the need for significant savings led to a 50-60% reduction in the amount of fertilizers applied. Significant areas of corn crops were left unharvested in the fields. As a result, the expected level of harvest may decrease (depending on the region and crop) by 15-30% compared to the average yield of previous years", - the scientists noted.
As a result, according to their expectations, the projected gross grain harvest in Ukraine in 2023 may be 34 million tons, which is 37% less than the result of 2022, and 60% lower than the level in 2021. As for oil crops, their gross harvest is expected to be 19.3 million tons, which is 13% higher than the 2022 level, but 15% lower than the level in 2021.