Warming temperatures, erratic rainfall and collapse of Soviet-era irrigation systems are pushing farmers to gradually reduce vegetable cultivation in southern Ukraine and to increase it in central Ukraine,

Warming temperatures, erratic rainfall and collapse of Soviet-era irrigation systems are pushing farmers to gradually reduce vegetable cultivation in southern Ukraine and to increase it in central Ukraine, Petro Lakhay, analyst for the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, tells AgroPortal news site. His figures show a 5% drop in acreage devoted to vegetables in southern Ukraine this year, and 2% increase in central Ukraine. For example, he noted, in Mykolayiv region this year, there have been cuts in the area planted with cabbage, cucumbers and cornichons, tomatoes, onions, carrots and beets.