In the midst of the heavy fighting campaign that russia started at the end of winter 2022 in Ukraine the other campaign gained momentum – the spring sowing campaign, which success was undermined not only due to the heavy fighting on the fields to be worked on, but also due to a shortage of diesel fuel, needed for running the agricultural machinery.
According to farmer Roman Dyazhuk (“Danube agrarian” – agro-production close Izmail in Odessa region), they barely managed to collect enough diesel by driving around with a bunch of small empty canisters from one tanking station to the next and buying little by little as much as possible, as it has become scarce the first day of the war and many tanking stations would only sell a limited amount per buyer. Later, when the supply chain logistics has been rearranged and become more stable, another plague arrived – constant airstrikes on the oil products storage facilities and infrastructure have disrupted the supplies again, inducing heavy fires, spillage into the environment, destruction of the civil and business infrastructure, shortages of diesel and price increase for the customers. For agribusinesses all over Ukraine, the spring sowing campaign turned into a significant challenge both economically and logistically.
So, besides being a hazard to climate and nature, fossil fuel use in agroproduction turned out to be a physical hazard for the workers and local population as it is usually stored in bulk in purposely built facilities with locations clearly marked – an easy target for the hostile enemy’s airstrikes.
Therefore, the use of fossil fuel increases operational risks as it could turn not only to harm the environment (due to the emissions and potential spills) but also the farmers.
Its use also adds risks to the timely completion of the sowing on the fields due to the fuel shortages, and therefore may potentially negatively impact the quality of the crops and pests and drought resilience, as well as adding to soil, water, and air pollution associated with fossil fuel use and potentially affecting the food safety.
In short – the traditional diesel use (like any fossil fuel use) – is an unsustainable practice for agricultural business even during peace times, during wartime it also becomes an operational hazard for conventional agricultural production. It is logical to seek safer alternatives to decrease specified risks.
It can be, for example, the use of machinery that works on electricity, especially charging it from a small independent (mobile) PV panel unit. Such a business solution will allow not only to simplify the logistics for the field works of the agro producers, but also to improve the safety of the workers and local population as PV panels do not have such high flammability and exclusivity if bombed, and using decentralized supply from small independent units will make the business far less desirable target for the enemy strikes.
In addition, small independent PV installations with batteries can be used as alternative power supply at times of emergencies supplying energy for emergency relief efforts, water pumping, lighting, mobile network and internet connections, and heating.
Another sound alternative is in changing the field working practices, for instance turning to no-till or minimal tillage methods, which are already quite well established in Ukraine.
The choice of no-till brings a significant reduction in the amount of fieldwork required for business operation (up to 3 times less than in conventional agro production methods), which reduces the cost of the production and saves a lot of diesel fuel. Additionally, the no-till method (as one of the regenerative methods in agriculture) improves soil fertility, structure, and moisture content, reduces soil erosion, and facilitates a reduction in mineral fertilizers needs. Therefore, the choice of no-till technologies brings a significant reduction in operational costs and operational risks for farmers. The bonus of no-till is improved pest and drought resilience of the crops by improving the soil structure.
Olga Ignatenko, Information Center “Green Dossier”
