Assessing wheat production futures in the Ukraine

In future decades, the global demand for cereals will increase due to growing demand for food and feed and use of cereal crops as a source for biofuels. Some studies on cereal production within Europe have identified the Ukraine as a country with a large potential to increase production. However, the Ukraine is widely known for its high-quality soils, but its yield is relatively low. In principle, two routes for production growth exist: increasing yield (intensification) and/or converting more land into production (expansion). In this study, an assessment of the potential levels of wheat production that could be attained in the Ukraine at a regional level have been derived as well as quantifying the optimal levels of fertilizer application needed. The study identifies why farmers currently have low levels of motivation to intensify production and the reasons for increasing land using efficiency.