The Director General of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, Pavlo Koval, provided a detailed analysis of this year’s spring sowing campaign during a broadcast on Ukrainian Radio. He explained why farmers are being forced to reconsider crop structures, how global geopolitics is affecting production costs, and what transformations of the European market Ukrainian businesses should prepare for.

– Mr. Koval, the spring sowing campaign is already well underway. What are the key challenges farmers are facing, and how does this “fifth wartime sowing campaign” differ from the previous ones?

Pavlo Koval: More than one million hectares of early grains and legumes have already been sown, and some farms are beginning to plant sugar beet. However, this campaign will certainly not be cheaper or easier. There are several fundamental challenges common to all regions.

Director General of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation Pavlo Koval, speaking on Ukrainian Radio, provided a comprehensive analysis of the key challenges currently facing Ukrainian farmers. In an in-depth discussion, he outlined the hidden complexities of European integration, explained the impact of the Middle East crisis on the cost of the sowing campaign in Ukraine, and emphasized the critical importance of implementing artificial intelligence to address the labor shortage.

European agricultural policy is entering a phase of change that goes beyond the traditional logic of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). There is a gradual shift from a stable, rule-based model toward a more flexible and adaptive system. Agricultural policy is increasingly intertwined with trade, regulation, budget constraints, and broader concerns of food and economic security. Brussels is forced to rewrite the rules of the game due to four specific factors.

WHY EU POLICY IS CHANGING: REAL MOTIVES

February 2026 did not deliver a headline regulatory shock in Brussels. It delivered something more consequential for the medium term — a visible change in how the EU is thinking about agriculture itself. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is no longer being treated primarily as a stable, self-contained support system. It is increasingly being handled as part of a wider political equation that includes budget pressure, social sensitivity, strategic autonomy, and enlargement.