Ukraine to increase agri-production to 200M t in 10 years - agrarian ministry

First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotsky stated this at the conference From Vision to the Future of Ukraine: Starting a Permanent Dialogue between the State and Business, Ukrinform reports citing the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

"Our goals are to provide 600 million people on the planet with food, develop a policy of import substitution and consume up to 90% of our own agricultural products, increase competition in the processing sector, and, accordingly, process 50% of the harvest, develop the biomethane market, and obtain an investment portfolio of USD 57 million. The goals are absolutely realistic. But we need another starting point for this," he said.

According to Vysotsky, Ukraine can increase production to 200 million tonnes of agricultural products over the next 10 years. But to do so, it must win Russia's war and have all 32 million hectares of land under cultivation.

The deputy minister noted that the prospect of implementing such a strategy depends on the parallel development of other sectors of the economy.

"Many countries are already facing an acute shortage of food products, we are talking about 350 million people, while the world's population is growing, and climate conditions are changing not in the best way for the agricultural sector. So, Ukraine's potential on the agricultural map is significant and it can grow," he said.

Vysotsky added that Ukraine needs to focus on automation and digitalization of all agricultural processes to increase productivity and intensity of agricultural production.

As Ukrinform reported, according to the strategy for the agro-industrial complex for the next ten years, developed by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the production of grains and oilseeds in Ukraine should increase to 150 million tonnes.