After the destruction of the Kakhovka reservoir dam, the area under irrigation in Ukraine decreased by 95%

The explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in 2023 dealt a huge blow to the irrigation system of the southern regions of Ukraine. The Kakhovka main irrigation system, which irrigated thousands of hectares of agricultural land, was the most affected. SuperAgronom.com writes. Before the full-scale invasion, irrigation systems were actively used in Ukraine. During the period 2018-2021, the area of irrigated land amounted to more than 500 thousand hectares. However, after the destruction of the Kakhovka reservoir dam, this area decreased by 95%, and in 2023 it amounted to only 15 thousand hectares. 78% of the country's irrigated areas depended on the Kakhovka system, which emphasizes the scale of the problem. Area of irrigated land dependent on the Kakhovka reservoir (thousand hectares): 2018: 510 thousand ha2019: 517.1 thousand ha2020: 551.1 thousand ha2021: 540.5 thousand ha2022: 5.24 thousand ha2023: 15.0 thousand ha Due to the loss of irrigation, the total ...