Ukraine Farms WEB
Metadata
- Ukraine Farms WEB
- May 3, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Ukraine Farms HEADLINE: “Farming in Ukraine is Like Playing Russian Roulette” TEASER: The second line of war in Ukraine is now the front line of the global food crisis. PUBLISHED AT: 05/03/2022 at 3:10pm BYLINE: Heather Murdock DATELINE: ZAPORIZHZHYA, Ukraine VIDEOGRAPHER: Yan Boechat VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: Salinas, MPage SR VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _x_ TV _x_ RADIO __ TRT: 3:12 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: WEB STORY, PICS WILL BE FILED)) ((INTRO:)) [[Vast swaths of farmland in Ukraine are now occupied by Russian troops and that is contributing to a food crisis in countries around the world. Ukrainian farmers say working in their fields now is “like playing Russian roulette,” and as a result the United Nations says countries relying on those crops face possible starvation. VOA’s Heather Murdock has this report from Zaporizhzhya Oblast in Ukraine.]] ((NARRATOR:)) Along the highways in Zaporizhzhya, Ukrainian billboards say things like: “Put your Molotov cocktail here,” with pictures of red arrows pointing to sensitive spots on Russian tanks. In recent weeks, strikes on the city have become more common, and in the Zaporizhzhya countryside, Russia controls 85 percent of the oblast’s farmland after more than two months of war. ((Heather Murdock, VOA News)) “These fields are about 30 kilometers from the front lines where the Russian military is stationed. Farmers here say they are littered with remnants of missiles from attacks.” ((NARRATOR:)) Ukrainian farmers wear body armor, hoping the fields will stay safe enough to work at least through the harvest over the next two months. ((Roman Umarov, Agricultural Engineer)) ((Male, in Ukrainian)) “Sometimes missiles hit fields. Other fields are impossible to reach because they are in the occupied territory. The war has made our job extreme.” ((NARRATOR:)) Ukraine and Russia together produce more than a quarter of the world’s wheat, as well as other major food items, like barley, sunflower seed oil and corn. The war in Ukraine has strained food supplies and increased prices across the globe. In the worst hit, poorest and most war-torn countries like Yemen, Ethiopia and Afghanistan, many people could soon face starvation in part due to the war in Ukraine, according to the United Nations. Regional officials say Zaporizhzhya, one of Ukraine’s top growing regions, usually produces 2.7 million tons of wheat, mostly for export, but this year expects only about 260,000 tons. Most of it will stay in Ukraine. Next year could be even scarcer, officials add, without cash from the current crop for fertilizers, gas, insecticides and other farming needs. ((Olexandr Iasynytskyi, Regional Agricultural Department Chief)) ((Male, Ukrainian)) “Farmers do not have enough capital right now to invest in future crops. They have grain but they cannot sell it. How can they operate without money? Banks are giving limited loans, but we are under martial law. They are being cautious.” ((NARRATOR:)) The immediate problem for global food supplies is that attacks have shut down major ports and train lines in Ukraine. The remaining rail and road routes cannot carry enough food far enough. And farmers say as the war intensifies in eastern Ukraine, even supplies to feed Ukraine and its military could be at risk. ((Vitaliy Lupynos, Farm Owner)) ((Male, Ukrainian)) “We can’t tell what will happen tomorrow. If Russian occupiers come here, they could take our lands. They could ruin the fields. It’s a huge risk. It’s high stakes: like playing Russian Roulette.” ((NARRATOR:)) He says if Ukrainian farmers lose this “game,” the results could be catastrophic for global food needs, and apocalyptic for Ukrainian farming communities. ((HEATHER MURDOCK VOA NEWS, ZAPORIZHZHYA, UKRAINE))
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Ukraine Farms HEADLINE: “Farming in Ukraine is Like Playing Russian Roulette” TEASER: The second line of war in Ukraine is now the front line of the global food crisis. PUBLISHED AT: 05/03/2022 at 3:10pm BYLINE: Heather Murdock DATELINE: ZAPORIZHZHYA, Ukraine VIDEOGRAPHER: Yan Boechat VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: Salinas, MPage SR VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _x_ TV _x_ RADIO __ TRT: 3:12 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: WEB STORY, PICS WILL BE FILED)) ((INTRO:)) [[Vast swaths of farmland in Ukraine are now occupied by Russian troops and that is contributing to a food crisis in countries around the world. Ukrainian farmers say working in their fields now is “like playing Russian roulette,” and as a result the United Nations says countries relying on those crops face possible starvation. VOA’s Heather Murdock has this report from Zaporizhzhya Oblast in Ukraine.]] ((NARRATOR:)) Along the highways in Zaporizhzhya, Ukrainian billboards say things like: “Put your Molotov cocktail here,” with pictures of red arrows pointing to sensitive spots on Russian tanks. In recent weeks, strikes on the city have become more common, and in the Zaporizhzhya countryside, Russia controls 85 percent of the oblast’s farmland after more than two months of war. ((Heather Murdock, VOA News)) “These fields are about 30 kilometers from the front lines where the Russian military is stationed. Farmers here say they are littered with remnants of missiles from attacks.” ((NARRATOR:)) Ukrainian farmers wear body armor, hoping the fields will stay safe enough to work at least through the harvest over the next two months. ((Roman Umarov, Agricultural Engineer)) ((Male, in Ukrainian)) “Sometimes missiles hit fields. Other fields are impossible to reach because they are in the occupied territory. The war has made our job extreme.” ((NARRATOR:)) Ukraine and Russia together produce more than a quarter of the world’s wheat, as well as other major food items, like barley, sunflower seed oil and corn. The war in Ukraine has strained food supplies and increased prices across the globe. In the worst hit, poorest and most war-torn countries like Yemen, Ethiopia and Afghanistan, many people could soon face starvation in part due to the war in Ukraine, according to the United Nations. Regional officials say Zaporizhzhya, one of Ukraine’s top growing regions, usually produces 2.7 million tons of wheat, mostly for export, but this year expects only about 260,000 tons. Most of it will stay in Ukraine. Next year could be even scarcer, officials add, without cash from the current crop for fertilizers, gas, insecticides and other farming needs. ((Olexandr Iasynytskyi, Regional Agricultural Department Chief)) ((Male, Ukrainian)) “Farmers do not have enough capital right now to invest in future crops. They have grain but they cannot sell it. How can they operate without money? Banks are giving limited loans, but we are under martial law. They are being cautious.” ((NARRATOR:)) The immediate problem for global food supplies is that attacks have shut down major ports and train lines in Ukraine. The remaining rail and road routes cannot carry enough food far enough. And farmers say as the war intensifies in eastern Ukraine, even supplies to feed Ukraine and its military could be at risk. ((Vitaliy Lupynos, Farm Owner)) ((Male, Ukrainian)) “We can’t tell what will happen tomorrow. If Russian occupiers come here, they could take our lands. They could ruin the fields. It’s a huge risk. It’s high stakes: like playing Russian Roulette.” ((NARRATOR:)) He says if Ukrainian farmers lose this “game,” the results could be catastrophic for global food needs, and apocalyptic for Ukrainian farming communities. ((HEATHER MURDOCK VOA NEWS, ZAPORIZHZHYA, UKRAINE))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date May 3, 2022 15:02 EDT
- Byline Heather Murdock
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America