Russian’s invasion of Ukraine has caused over €28bn worth of damage and loss to Ukraine's agricultural sector, a European Commission and World Bank report has found.

As of June 1 2022 the war has resulted in total damage of over €2.2bn for the agriculture sector, while the aggregate losses total just over €28bn.

The report, Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, has found that the total recovery and reconstruction needs for the sector stand at a total of €18.6bn as of 1 June 2022.

The damage figures include partial or full destruction of machinery and equipment, storage facilities, livestock, and perennial crops, as well as lost inputs and outputs and agricultural land that needs to be cultivated.

They also include production losses, including unharvested winter crops, higher farm production costs, and lower farmgate prices due to the export logistic disruptions, which are significant for Ukraine’s export-oriented agriculture.

These figures do not include the losses from mines on agricultural land and the need for agricultural land’s demining, which is likely to be large, are not included in the agriculture sector estimates.

Demining

“Land decontamination, which covers demining and clearance of explosive remnants of war, is a precondition to safe rebuilding, resumption of service provision, and return to normality,” the report states.

It is estimated that 13% of Ukraine’s territory is contaminated by mines and land decontamination costs are expected to exceed €73bn.

“It should be noted that land decontamination efforts may need to be sustained over decades, considering experience of other countries in land decontamination.

“Costs associated with the removal of anchored and floating sea mines in the Black Sea are yet unquantified. However, until decontamination of the Black Sea and Ukraine harbours is completed, (re)insurers of shipping vessels in the Black Sea will continue to charge high and even historic levels for insurance — a cost that will eventually be passed on to consumers, a particularly significant issue in relation to grain exports,” the report warned.

Recovery

Almost €10bn of this is needed in the immediate- or short-term, with almost €8.7bn needed in the medium- to long-term.

The most pressing investments of US$10bn include rebuilding the damaged assets, helping agriculture bounce back by addressing liquidity and other constraints, and restoring the agricultural public institutions to effectively support recovery and reconstruction, the report said.