Bombs for breakfast: Ukrainian farmers must improvise bomb squad

Farmers of Kherson look forward to the end of the war, certainly their region, in southeastern Ukraine, was subjected to constant bombing with devastation that leaves its mark. Fields need to be plowed but those that have been the scene of battles are full of bombs and unexploded shells, so they are often unusable. Local farmers need to get back to work and fields to survive but their plows keep running into all kinds of bombs. To clear the land farmers need help. “We tried to do it ourselves, with the help of guys in our free time, with sappers. We found about 300 charges, which the soldiers collected, eliminated and detonated. ” Farmer Andrii from Kherson explains. About two and a half million hectares of agricultural land in Ukraine are to be inspected for explosives. 800,000 hectares have priority to start spring planting. But mass demining requires special equipment and a lot of patience and is not an easy and safe activity. Ukraine needs international cooperation. In addition, agricultural machinery is often destroyed, spare parts for surviving machines are hard to find. Iherson farmers hope to seed at least 30% of arable land on the right bank of the Dnipro River. It's not enough but it's a start.