Farmers in western Ukraine took over the management of irrigation systems for the first time.
The first associations of farmers to manage drainage systems were formed in this region.
In the west of Ukraine, for the first time, water user organizations (WUs) appeared – associations of agrarians who, with their own funds, operate the melioration systems of the “lower level”. These systems are in state or communal ownership, or have been abandoned. This was reported State Agency for the Development of Reclamation (State Agency).
On the Melnytsk drainage system, the “Ukhovetsk” UHC was established, founded by the “Vasyuty” agricultural society, and on the “Bobrovka” drainage system, the “Bilyn” UCC, founded by the “Bilynske” agricultural society, appeared.
Both associations are located in the Kovel district of the Volyn region, where there are 416,600 hectares of drained land with an extensive system of reclamation channels.
Until 2023, all reclamation systems were managed by state bodies under the reclamation administration. However, on February 17, 2022, the parliament passed a law on land irrigation, which gave water users the right to form unions and take over the management of reclamation systems.
The first irrigation system was handed over to farmers at the end of 2023. As of August 2024, 46 water user organizations have already been established in Ukraine, of which 38 are engaged in irrigation and eight in drainage.
