Ukrainian agriculture scientist forges ties in Sask., looks to future
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to cause devastation, a Ukrainian scientist has come to Saskatchewan to build connections that he says will be an important part of helping Ukraine's farming industry recover from the effects of war.
Volodymyr Ladyka is the rector of Sumy National Agrarian University, located in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, about 200 kilometres northwest of Kharkiv. He was in Saskatoon this week to deliver a lecture at the University of Saskatchewan, as part of a tour of universities in the Prairie provinces.
Speaking to Postmedia with the help of an interpreter, he said Ukraine's farmers are faced with many problems imposed by the war.
First, Russia has cut off access to key ports and other vital infrastructure necessary for Ukraine's crops to get to market.
Those crops accounted for a large share of global grain and vegetable oil, and the loss of export capacity has affected world markets. Within Ukraine, Ladyka said the support of Western partners has been critical to preventing devastating levels of inflation on farm products.
While Ukraine's mechanized farming sector doesn't require large numbers of people to work in the fields, Ladyka said the war has caused depopulation in areas affected by conflict that has also affected the ability to grow crops.
Russia is not a signatory to the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use of anti-personnel landmines. Russian forces have been documented using the weapons indiscriminately to target civilians, turning farming into a potentially life-threatening activity in affected areas. The Ukrainian government has estimated as much as a third of the country's territory will need to be cleared of mines and other explosives when the conflict ends.
Ladyka said ending the war and getting ports and other transportation systems working again would allow many areas not directly affected by the war to return relatively quickly to prewar levels of agricultural production. However, he said crop production in areas within the conflict zone could take decades to recover due to the presence of landmines in millions of acres of farmland.
While he said Canada and other Western nations' expertise will be needed for demining, the Prairies will also be able to help on the non-military side. He said his trip has been about connecting with partners to set up a business school that will help promote the development of Ukrainian agriculture.
Having had the opportunity to observe farming practices here, he said Canadian universities will be “a huge support” by sharing knowledge and collaborating on research, pointing to the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.
Ladyka said he's also grateful for the many friends he's found here, including Saskatoon-based author Boris Kishchuk, whom he thanked for providing scholarships for seven students to continue their agriculture studies.