War Is Reshaping Crop Planting Patterns

This opinion was expressed by Pavlo Koval, Director General of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC), during a broadcast on Ukrainian Radio, according to the association’s press service.

He noted that the full-scale invasion has disrupted numerous logistics chains.

«We continue to face constant bombardments and attacks on southern routes, Odesa’s deep-water ports, the Danube, western infrastructure, and railway crossings. This directly affects farmers’ decision-making. It is one thing to harvest a large corn crop that has to be exported in substantial volumes. It is quite another to harvest rapeseed or sunflower, process it into oil, and export a much smaller volume of finished products,» the expert explained.

According to Koval, this is precisely why crop planting patterns are changing.

«However, farmers cannot grow the same crop on the same field year after year. Some crops, such as corn, can be cultivated for several consecutive years. Rapeseed, however, cannot be repeatedly sown after rapeseed, as this increases pressure from weeds, pests, and diseases, making their control more expensive.

Today, crop rotations are becoming increasingly market- and risk-oriented rather than being driven solely by agronomic considerations. This affects both product quality and yield potential. Under wartime conditions, this transition must be managed very carefully. Afterward, it will be possible to rebalance crop planting patterns and introduce new technologies,» Pavlo Koval concluded.