Funding for Ukraine’s agricultural demining in 2025 slashed to a third of last year’s budget – Denys Marchuk

Ukraine’s 2025 national budget allocates one billion hryvnias for clearing landmines from the country’s farmland—just a third of last year’s three-billion allocation. The sharp reduction in funding could significantly impact the amount of agricultural land area cleared for use by farmers.

Denys Marchuk, Deputy Head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, raised concerns about the issue during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

“When we talk about the fiscal year 2025 budget, one billion hryvnias have been allocated for demining efforts. In 2024, the budgeted amount was three billion, but in reality, only 500 million hryvnias were used. And if you compare this one billion to the current costs of professional demining teams, it is simply not enough,” he said.

Marchuk also stressed the importance of securing additional support from international grant programs to supplement the limited budget.

“So let’s hope this official one billion, which ideally won’t be reduced during the year, will be reinforced by grant projects from international partners. Because, in addition to covering 100% of the costs for those conducting landmines clearance in 2025, this billion also includes reimbursement of around 80% of expenses for those who carried out demining before this financial program was introduced—many producers are still waiting for that support,” he added.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news