The Dzyaliv farm in central Ukraine cultivates almost 10,000 acres. Before the war, it focused solely on grains and industrial crops, but in the last two years it grows onions, sweet corn, watermelons and miscanthus. The farm has its own vegetable storage facility and produces fuel pellets and livestock bedding from rapeseed straw.
Latifundist Media has partnered with us to provide boots-on-the-ground coverage.
In 2022, following the occupation of the southern regions, Ukraine lost about 40% of its industrial vegetable production. In spring 2023, vegetable prices peaked at record highs, and in autumn, the area under vegetables expanded in the central and western regions.
“The production responded the same way as business in general does to such things: prices are high, so everyone planted. We treated the cultivation of vegetables as a project that will last for more than one year. That is, it is a project from growing to harvesting, sorting, storing and selling onions. Because many farmers, even in our area, planted 12-25 acres of vegetables, struggled and gave up. But it has to be consistent.”
Vyacheslav admits that high prices for vegetables also prompted him to start growing onions. It is also a way to diversify the business.
It is the second year of onions cultivation here. They started with 30 acres, now it’s 111 acres.
“We are dependent on irrigation and crop rotation. We cannot grow vegetables on the same field for several years in a row. We have an irrigation unit, so we can allocate 125 acres around it every year for onions. This is our crop rotation.”
This year, they experimented with growing sweet corn, which is then sold to retail chains.
They will also increase the area under watermelons. This is also an experiment that has proved profitable for the company.
And finally, another new crop is miscanthus.
“It’s an interesting crop. No fertiliser is required. No cultivation either. After planting, we applied one soil herbicide to give it a good start. And then the plant covers the soil by itself.”
They are ready for new projects and investments, but in a balanced manner and with all the risks assessed.
“What mentally helps one to keep going and continue working? Simple hard work. You just get on with it. You tell yourself that everything is fine. There is no other way to survive.”
Latifundist Media has partnered with us to provide boots-on-the-ground coverage.
