Agricultural land demining in September: farmers received over 20,000 hectares

Partners allocate half a million dollars for a prioritisation project in humanitarian demining. The funds will be directed to developing a system that determines which territories should be demined first, based on risk assessment and socio-economic analysis.

"Prioritisation is key to efficient resource utilisation. We cannot demine everything at once, so we need a clear, evidence-based system for deciding where to direct limited resources for maximum impact. This project will help us build such a system," said Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.

The project will develop criteria and methodologies for territory prioritisation, create analytical tools for data processing, and conduct pilot testing in several regions. The work will be carried out with the support of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD).

"The prioritisation system will integrate data from multiple sources — contamination surveys, socio-economic indicators, community needs, infrastructure plans — to produce comprehensive risk and impact assessments," explained the project lead.

The allocated funding comes from the governments of Great Britain and Switzerland, both active supporters of humanitarian demining in Ukraine. The project is planned for a one-year timeframe with the possibility of extension.

"Effective prioritisation can transform the entire mine action process. Instead of clearing territory arbitrarily, we channel resources to where they are most needed and will have the greatest effect," noted the Deputy Minister.