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Common nitrogen (N) surplus or deficit as a share of complete N enter for wheat, maize, and sunflower in Ukraine under five contrasting eventualities for 2030. Credit: Communications Earth & Atmosphere (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02826-9
For decades, Ukraine used to be known because the breadbasket of the sphere. Earlier than the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, it ranked amongst the tip world producers and exporters of sunflower oil, maize and wheat. These helped feed bigger than 400 million folks worldwide.
But past the knowledge about grain blockades lies a deeper, slower-shifting crisis: the depletion of the very vitamins that win Ukraine’s fertile dismal soil so productive.
Whereas the continued warfare has centered world consideration on Ukraine’s food present chains, a long way less is known in regards to the sustainability of the agricultural methods that underpin them.
Ukraine’s soil might presumably perchance just no longer be in a situation to assist the nation’s feature as one of many key food producers with out urgent plug. And this might presumably perchance believe penalties that stretch a long way past its borders.
In our analysis, we believe now examined nutrient administration in Ukrainian agriculture over the past 40 years and discovered a dramatic reversal of nutrient ranges.
At some level of the Soviet period, Ukraine’s farmland used to be excessively fertilized. Nutrients equivalent to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were utilized at ranges a long way past what vegetation might presumably perchance soak up. This led to air pollution of the air and water.
But since independence in 1991, the pendulum has swung within the opposite route. Fertilizer utilize, namely phosphorus and potassium, plummeted as imports fell, cattle numbers declined (lowering manure availability) and present chains collapsed.
By 2021, true earlier than the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian soil used to be already displaying indicators of rigidity. Farmers were adding remarkable less phosphorus and potassium than the vegetation were taking on, around 40–50% less phosphorus and 25% less potassium, and the soil’s natural matter had dropped by practically 9% since independence.
In many regions, farmers utilized too remarkable nitrogen, but in most cases too itsy-bitsy phosphorus and potassium to establish up prolonged-term fertility. Furthermore, though cattle numbers believe declined enormously over the past decades, our analysis displays that about 90% of the manure light produced is wasted. This is linked to roughly US$2.2 billion (£1.6 billion) in fertilizer designate each year.
These nutrient imbalances are no longer true a nationwide issue. They threaten Ukraine’s prolonged-term agricultural productivity and, by extension, the arena food present that depends on it.
The warfare has sharply intensified the issue. Russia’s invasion has disrupted fertilizer present chains and broken storage products and services. Fertilizer costs believe soared. Many farmers intentionally utilized less fertilizer in 2022-2023 to lower monetary risks, knowing that their harvests is most likely to be destroyed, stolen or left unsold attributable to blocked export routes.
Our recent analysis displays alarming tendencies at some level of the nation. In 2023, harvested vegetation took up to 30% more nitrogen, 80% more phosphorus and 70% more potassium from the soil than they received thru fertilization, soil microbes and from the air (along side what comes down in rain and what settles onto the ground from the air).
If these tendencies continue, Ukraine’s famously fertile soil might presumably perchance face lasting degradation, threatening the nation’s skill to enhance and present world food markets once peace returns.
Ukraine’s farmers face multiple challenges.
Rebuilding soil fertility
Some ideas exist and plenty are most likely even for the duration of wartime. Our analysis team has developed a conception for Ukrainian farmers that will presumably perchance instant win a distinction. These measures might presumably perchance severely reinforce nutrient utilize effectivity and lower wasted vitamins, holding farms productive and a success, while lowering soil degradation and environmental air pollution.
These proposed ideas consist of:
- Precision fertilization – making utilize of fertilizers on the true time, popularity and quantity to verify crop wishes efficiently
- Enhanced manure utilize – developing native methods to web surplus manure and redistribute it to other farms, lowering dependence on (imported) artificial fertilizers
- Improved fertilizer utilize – making utilize of enhanced-effectivity fertilizers that release vitamins slowly, lowering losses to air and water
- Planting legumes (equivalent to peas or soybeans) – along side these in crop rotations, improves soil health while adding nitrogen naturally
All these actions require funding, equivalent to higher products and services for storage, therapy and better application of manure to fields, but many might presumably perchance just additionally be rolled out, on the least partly, with out too remarkable extra funding.
Ukraine’s restoration fund, backed by the World Bank to assist Ukraine after the warfare ends, entails reinforce for agriculture, and this might presumably perchance play a key feature right here.
Why it matters past Ukraine
Ukraine’s nutrient crisis is a warning for the sphere. Intensive, unbalanced farming, whether or no longer thru overuse, under utilize or misuse of fertilizers, is unsustainable. Nutrient mismanagement contributes to both food insecurity and environmental air pollution.
Our analysis is fragment of the impending near near World Nitrogen Review, which highlights the need for effective world nitrogen administration and showcases functional ideas to maximise the multiple benefits of upper nitrogen utilize – improved food security, native weather resilience, and water and air quality.
Within the inch to win certain cheap food and stable exports, we must no longer fail to see the foundations of prolonged-term agricultural productivity: healthy, fertile soils.
Supporting Ukraine’s farmers provides an replacement no longer handiest to rebuild a nation but also to commerce world agriculture to assist win a more resilient, sustainable future.
More data:
Sergiy Medinets et al, Nutrient asymmetry challenges the sustainability of Ukrainian agriculture, Communications Earth & Atmosphere (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02826-9
This article is republished from The Dialog under a Ingenious Commons license. Be taught the real article.
Citation:
Ukraine’s farms once fed billions, but now its soil is starving (2025,
