NASA: Russia occupies 22% of Ukraine's agricultural land

The US space agency (NASA) said Thursday that Russian forces currently occupy about 22% of Ukraine's agricultural land, making it influential in one of the main sources of the world's grain and vegetable oil market.

An analysis by the agency's scientists of satellite images showed that Russia's occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine gives it control of land that produces 28 percent of the country's winter crops, especially wheat, barley and canola, and 18 percent of summer crops such as corn and sunflower.

NASA scientists pointed out that the disruption of the war to harvest and planting operations due to the flight of farmers, lack of labor and the targeting of fields by bombing, could have a significant impact on the global food supply.

"The world's breadbasket is at war," said Inbal Becker-Reshef, director of NASA's "Harvest" program, which relies on US and European satellite data to study global food production.

According to US data, before the war Ukraine supplied 46% of sunflower oil, 9% of wheat, 17% of barley and 12% of corn.

But the Russian invasion prevented the export of grain from Odessa, the main port on the Black Sea, and destroyed storage and transportation infrastructure in some areas.

This means that farmers across the country, especially in areas controlled by Russian forces, have fewer options to dispose of their produce, and planting winter crops with the onset of autumn is under threat.

"We are in the early stages of an ongoing food crisis that is likely to affect every country and every person on earth in one way or another," Becker-Reshef said.

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