Irrigation of 500,000 hectares of farmland would boost national agricultural production by 8-10 million tons, estimates Igor Petrashko,

Irrigation of 500,000 hectares of farmland would boost national agricultural production by 8-10 million tons, estimates Igor Petrashko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Agriculture. With Soviet-era irrigation systems falling apart, private farmers will only invest in irrigation if they own their own land. Without financial structures in place to allow private investment in irrigation, southern Kherson runs the risk of the kind of desertification seen in neighboring Crimea.