Serhiy Tsykenyk: Farmers self-demining their lands is dangerous and pointless. There is an effective way to do it at no cost

In recent days, UDS specialists visited Kherson Oblast. Unfortunately, on many plots, farmers either try to conduct demining themselves or involve "black sappers."

Firstly, neither of these "demining" options is safe. There have been numerous cases of farmers being blown up by mines.

Secondly, this is how a market for "black sappers" has emerged in Ukraine, who for a conditional $100 imitate demining but, in reality, do not clear the areas. Moreover, there is a procedure according to which truly cleared areas are entered into the appropriate registry and receive corresponding certificates from the National Authority. Of course, black sappers after their "work" will not have any of these documents, and in fact and in essence, the area will remain dangerous and contaminated. It is impossible to conduct agricultural work on it.

"The most amazing thing is that this "service" is in high demand among farmers. This is strange, reckless, and even shortsighted. After all, Ukraine has a full-fledged state program to compensate farmers for demining agricultural land at 100% of the cost. So, instead of paying black sappers, losing their money, and endangering themselves and their employees, farmers can simply submit an application for compensation, and as a result, get truly cleared land with appropriate documentary confirmation. The only thing that falls on the farmer is a non-technical inspection. In fact, it can be carried out for the same amount of money that they blindly pay to black sappers for fruitless work. Moreover, any tragic incident on the plots after "black demining" is a criminal liability of the manager," emphasized Serhiy Tsykelyk,head of the UDS humanitarian demining department.

"We urge farmers to be cautious, reasonable, and responsible! The lives of your employees depend on you. After all, by using the services of black sappers, you are not saving money, but simply throwing your money away. We also have a separate appeal to local authorities: conduct explanatory work for farmers in your communities regarding the state compensation program with a step-by-step explanation of how to submit applications. After all, you too should be interested in the high-quality cleaning of lands in the territories of your communities. This is about safety and future revenues for local budgets!" added Serhiy Smyrnov, deputy head of the UDS humanitarian demining department.

You can submit an application for compensation on the website of the State Agrarian Registry https://www.dar.gov.ua/.

Verification of applications submitted by farmers is carried out by the Humanitarian Demining Center.