Strategic raw material: farmers are encouraged to grow cotton
29 April 16:08
The government is launching a program to support cotton farmers. This was announced at a government meeting by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, reports
According to him, the payment under the program will amount to UAH 10 thousand per hectare and will cover Mykolaiv, Odesa and Kherson regions.
“This will be an incentive for the development of light industry and will also strengthen the country’s defense capabilities,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
As you know, cotton pulp is used to produce gunpowder.
This is not the first step towards those who grow cotton
In April 2024, the Verkhovna Rada supported a law that simplifies the import and circulation of cotton varieties in Ukraine, which is needed for gunpowder production.
This law establishes a simplified procedure for state registration of varieties and state registration of rights to cotton varieties without a qualification examination for the period of martial law and for two years from the date of its completion or cancellation.
Farmers have already taken advantage of the law
Last year, five cotton varieties were imported to Ukraine: two from the US, two from Germany and one from Turkey. Farmers received 110 kg of cotton seeds, which were sown on an area of more than 5 hectares.
According to Vitaliy Koval, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, small test cotton plantations were planted in Odesa at 8 farms and one research site of the Ukrainian Institute of Plant Variety Expertise. These are small plots of 0.2 to 0.5 hectares.
“Cotton is a crop used to produce gunpowder. In wartime, such raw materials are extremely important for Ukraine. In addition, cotton can also be used to make fabric and oil,” the minister explained.
At the same time, the official said that in 2025, it is planned to increase the area of cotton to 30 thousand hectares. Vitaliy Koval also said that the Ministry of Agrarian Policy plans to launch appropriate financing programs for farmers who take up this business.
As Ihor Vishtak, Director of the Agricultural Development Department of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, explained in an interview with EP last year, this experiment in Odesa region was needed “to understand whether cotton can grow there at all and whether it can be used for strategic purposes of the industry.”
In fact, the first harvest last year showed that cotton can grow in Odesa region. And then the results of the examination conducted in the laboratories of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Strategic Industry were to give a conclusion on whether Ukrainian raw materials are suitable for the manufacture of explosives.
Given the fact that the government is ready to support cotton producers financially, we can assume that the conclusion was positive.
