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Photo: Continental Farmers Group
“Continental Farmers Group” has launched an investment project for irrigation. In the current season, the irrigated area for the first phase is 202 hectares in the south of the Ternopil region. By 2027, it will more than double to 420 hectares.
This was reported by the company’s press service.
Currently, “Continental” uses irrigation for growing seed corn under contract with the originator. The company views this project as a long-term investment and does not rule out growing other crops under irrigation in the future.
The choice of the project location is due to the logistics of water intake and the unstable nature of natural moisture supply in the fields in the Dniester region.
According to Kostiantyn Shitiuk, Operational Director of “Continental Farmers Group,” the issue of irrigation is becoming increasingly relevant for western Ukraine, where such practices have not been typical.
“Our region has always been considered a zone with sufficient moisture and uniform precipitation distribution throughout the year. However, the situation has changed, and recently we have observed a sharp shift in natural and climatic zones. Consequently, the risks of crop failure due to drought during critical plant development phases are becoming too high, and the demand for high-margin and capital-intensive crops, which require guaranteed and constant moisture supply, is growing. This includes seed corn, and therefore, seed originator companies working with hybrid corn require seed material to be grown exclusively under irrigation with strict adherence to technological protocols,” comments Kostiantyn Shitiuk.
As noted by the company, the creation of its own irrigation infrastructure has a dual economic purpose: to ensure high-margin production on designated areas and to gain access to the buyback program – an additional discount on seed purchases within the framework of cooperation with the originator.
Capital expenditures for the irrigation project implementation are approximately $2.5 thousand per hectare. For irrigation, “Continental” uses classic American-made circular sprinkler machines with remote control, purchased for both phases of the project.
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Olena Basanets, SuperAgronom.com
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