Ukraine turmoil threatens farmers, global markets

OLEKSANDRIVKA, Ukraine, May 18 (AFP): It is no longer the weather that most concerns Leonid Gensitsky. Like many of his fellow farmers in Ukraine, the biggest threat to his crops these days comes from the severe cash crunch wrought by months of political crisis.
With prices for petrol, equipment and seeds all soaring, daily life for Ukrainian farmers has become a real struggle- with knock-on effects not just for the local economy but for markets across the globe.
Ukraine's vast swathe of "black earth" is among the most fertile regions on the planet, making the country the world's third biggest producer of maize and sixth for wheat, according to the International Grains Council.
But months of political turmoil and a bloody rebellion that erupted in the east early last month have left many farmers in dire straits, unable to tap loans and invest in the usual way.
"My problem is that I don't have any money in my bank account. I haven't got anything left aside," said Gensitsky, who runs a 300-hectare (740-acre) farm in Oleksandrivka, a village to the west of Slavyansk, the epicentre of the violence.
That leaves him at the mercy of the elements, with no fall-back option if bad weather or outbreaks of disease hit his crops.
"Before, I had no problem buying petrol, but that is no longer the case. Now, life is difficult. I have to minutely calculate every expenditure," he said.