Ukraine’s farms once fed billions, but now its soil is starving

For decades, Ukraine has been known as the breadbasket of the world. Before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, it was among the world's largest producers and exporters of sunflower oil, corn and wheat. They have helped feed more than 400 million people around the world.

But besides the news about grain blockades lies a deeper, slower-growing crisis: the depletion of the very nutrients that make Ukraine's fertile black soil so productive.

Although the ongoing war has drawn the world's attention to Food supply chains in UkraineMuch less is known about the sustainability of the agricultural systems that underpin them.

Ukraine's soil may no longer be able to support the country's role as a major food producer without urgent action. And this could have consequences far beyond its borders.

IN our researchWe studied nutrient management in Ukrainian agriculture over the past 40 years and found dramatic changes in nutrient levels.

During Soviet times, Ukraine's agricultural lands were over-fertilized. Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were added. at levels far superior to those grown by crops could absorb. This led to air and water pollution.

But since independence in 1991, the pendulum has swung towards opposite direction. Fertilizer use, especially phosphorus and potassium, has fallen sharply due to falling imports, declining livestock numbers (reduced availability of manure) and disrupted supply chains.

By 2021, shortly before the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian soil had already begun to show signs of tension. Farmers added far less phosphorus and potassium than crops consumed: about 40–50% less phosphorus and 25% less potassium, and soil organic matter levels had declined by almost 9% since independence.

In many regions, farmers applied too much nitrogen, but often too little phosphorus and potassium to maintain long-term fertility. Moreover, although livestock numbers have declined significantly in recent decades, our analysis shows that about 90% of the manure produced is wasted. This equates to approximately $2.2 billion (£1.6 billion) in fertilizer costs each year.

This nutrient imbalance is not just a national problem. They threaten Ukraine's long-term agricultural productivity and, by extension, the global food supply that depends on it.

The war sharply aggravated the problem. The Russian invasion has disrupted fertilizer supply chains and damaged warehouses. Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed. Many farmers deliberately applied less fertilizer in 2022-2023. reduce financial risksknowing that their crops could be destroyed, stolen or left unsold due to blocked export routes.

Our new research is showing alarming trends across the country. In 2023, the harvested crop took 30% more nitrogen, 80% more phosphorus, and 70% more potassium from the soil than it did from fertilizers, soil microbes, and air (including what falls in the rain and what falls to the ground from the air).

If these trends continue, Ukraine's famously fertile soil could face long-term degradation, threatening the country's ability to recover and supply global food markets once peace returns.

Restoring soil fertility

Some solutions exist, and many of them are feasible even during war. Our research team has developed plan for Ukrainian farmers who can quickly change the situation. These measures can significantly improve nutrient use efficiency and reduce nutrient loss, maintaining farm productivity and profitability while reducing soil degradation and environmental pollution.

These proposed solutions include:

1. Precision Fertilizer Application – Applying fertilizer at the right time, in the right place and in the right quantity to effectively meet the needs of crops.
2. Increasing manure use – creating local systems to collect excess manure and redistribute it to other farms, reducing dependence on (imported) synthetic fertilizers.
3. Improving fertilizer use – using higher efficiency fertilizers that release nutrients slowly, reducing losses to air and water.
4. Planting legumes (such as peas or soybeans) – including them in crop rotations improves Earth health with natural nitrogen supplementation

Some of these actions require investment, such as improving conditions for storing, handling and more efficiently applying manure to fields, but many of them can be implemented, at least in part, without too much additional funding.

Ukraine Restoration Fundsupported by the World Bank to help Ukraine after the end of the war, includes support for agriculture, and this could play a key role here.

Why is this important outside of Ukraine?

The nutrition crisis in Ukraine is a warning to the world. Intensive, unbalanced agriculture, whether through over-, under-, or improper use of fertilizers, is unsustainable. Nutrient mismanagement contributes to both food insecurity and environmental pollution.

Our research is part of an upcoming International nitrogen assessmentwhich highlights the need for effective global nitrogen management and demonstrates practical options for maximizing the multiple benefits of more efficient use of nitrogen – improving food security, climate resilience, and water and air quality.

In our quest to provide cheap food and stable exports, we must not lose sight of the foundation of long-term agricultural productivity: healthy, fertile soils.

Supporting Ukrainian farmers offers a chance to not only rebuild the nation, but also reshape global agriculture to help create a more resilient and resilient future.

This article has been republished from Talk under Creative Commons license. Read original article.