The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine is optimistic about attracting donor funding as part of the state program aimed at compensating for the demining of agricultural land, as reported by the press service of the ministry, citing the words of First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
"This year we will continue the program (the state compensation program for demining agricultural land - IF-U) and hope to attract donor funding to clear even more agricultural land," the ministry's press service quoted the minister.
The announcement highlights that in January, farmers submitted 34 new applications to participate in the program.
Since the program's inception and as of February 1, the Humanitarian Demining Center has signed 50 agreements with operators to perform work over a total area of more than 9,300 hectares. The value of the contracts exceeds 536.5 million UAH.
As Svyrydenko noted, the government continues to enhance capabilities in the field of mine action. Since the beginning of the year, the number of certified operators has increased to 82. Efforts are ongoing to automate the certification processes, which will further accelerate the speed and convenience of obtaining certificates and will contribute to an increase in the number of operators in the market.
Additionally, work is ongoing in collaboration with international partners to strengthen the supply of equipment and machinery for demining. Currently, Ukraine has more than 200 mechanical demining machines, and the production of foreign equipment has been localized in the country.