Water – Energy – Food: Nourishing the Future

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Nourishing the Future

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19/02/2024

Almost 7 percent less arable land, fallow land on the front line: this is what the war in Ukraine is doing to agriculture

Agricultural use in the Zaporizhzhya oblast: The vegetation in the front area is developing, but is not used for food production.
A green dot represents a harvested field. Last year, around 6.5 percent of the former agricultural land along the front line fell out of use.

Munich, February 2024 – Vista GmbH, a subsidiary of BayWa AG, is once again using state-of-the-art technology to analyze how the Russian war of aggression is affecting agricultural production in Ukraine in the second year of the war. Among other things, almost 7% of the cultivated area is no longer used for agriculture and the course of the front is clearly visible on the cultivation maps.

Vista is also analyzing how the Russian war of aggression is affecting agricultural production in Ukraine in the second year of the war. This was made possible with funding from the European Space Agency and BayWa AG, among others.

The cultivation of spring and winter barley, grain maize, rapeseed, sunflower and wheat was observed. With the help of satellite data, among other things, the Vista scientists determine which crops were grown in which region and on which area. The PROMET physical plant growth model developed by Vista allows detailed forecasts to be made on the yields of the observed fruits.

Crop data makes war zone visible

Last year, around 6.5 percent of the previously agricultural land along the front line fell out of use. Satellite images show the difference between 2021 and 2023: The images show vegetation in places where fields used to be visible. A sign that no crops are currently being grown in these places. Thus, from an agricultural perspective, the front line along which Ukrainian and Russian troops are currently facing each other becomes visible. The data and maps also show that the fields in the Russian-occupied areas are still being cultivated.

Munich, February 2024 – Vista GmbH, a subsidiary of BayWa AG, is once again using state-of-the-art technology to analyze how the Russian war of aggression is affecting agricultural production in Ukraine in the second year of the war. Among other things, almost 7% of the cultivated area is no longer used for agriculture and the course of the front is clearly visible on the cultivation maps.

Vista is also analyzing how the Russian war of aggression is affecting agricultural production in Ukraine in the second year of the war. This was made possible with funding from the European Space Agency and BayWa AG, among others.

The cultivation of spring and winter barley, grain maize, rapeseed, sunflower and wheat was observed. With the help of satellite data, among other things, the Vista scientists determine which crops were grown in which region and on which area. The PROMET physical plant growth model developed by Vista allows detailed forecasts to be made on the yields of the observed fruits.

Crop data makes war zone visible

Last year, around 6.5 percent of the previously agricultural land along the front line fell out of use. Satellite images show the difference between 2021 and 2023: The images show vegetation in places where fields used to be visible. A sign that no crops are currently being grown in these places. Thus, from an agricultural perspective, the front line along which Ukrainian and Russian troops are currently facing each other becomes visible. The data and maps also show that the fields in the Russian-occupied areas are still being cultivated.

Comparison 2021 (dark blue) and 2023 (light blue) Number of artificially irrigated areas in Kherson oblast: Due to the dam blasting, the proportion of irrigated areas decreased by 52 percent.

*includes the production of crops calculated by Vista for the whole of Ukraine, including the Russian-controlled parts of the country excluding the Crimean peninsula

Figures contain Copernicus data.

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