Illia Zhemelinskyi | Blog

The main driver of agribusiness development is the constraints faced by agricultural producers. Until a problem becomes critical, it is often ignored. However, when a factor begins to directly impact yield and profit, farmers are forced to seek solutions—and usually find an effective way out.

Water as a Key Risk for Agribusiness

Today, the issue of water scarcity does not only affect the southern regions of Ukraine. Increasingly, central regions are facing it too, where the lack of precipitation during critical crop development phases leads to a 40–70% loss in yield.

According to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports, the increase in average annual temperature in Ukraine could exceed the +1.5°C threshold as early as 2030, and by 2050, warming could reach 2°C or more. This means that the eastern, central, and southern regions of Ukraine are gradually shifting into a zone of high-risk farming. Consequently, the water issue is becoming a key condition for agribusiness survival rather than a desirable bonus.

In addition to reduced precipitation, we are already witnessing another challenge—declining river discharge, which serves as the primary source of water for irrigation. This leads to situations where a farmer receives a special water-use permit for the required volume of water but, in reality, can only draw it evenly throughout the year rather than during the peak vegetative period. For agriculture, this is a severe constraint.

Irrigation as a Solution for Predictable and Profitable Crop Production

The only systemic solution for consistently providing crops with moisture is irrigation.

Put simply, irrigation is the process of taking water from a source using a pumping station and supplying it through pipelines to the field, where the water is evenly distributed across crops using pivot or lateral move irrigation machines.

Let's look at the core components of an irrigation system.

Key Components of Irrigation

1. Water Source

This is the cornerstone of building an irrigation system, as it ensures a water volume sufficient to irrigate the planned area. Competition in the irrigation sector is already beginning in Ukraine due to scarce groundwater resources, the destroyed Kakhovka irrigation system, and the limited capacity of existing water canals—all of which make it impossible to supply all consumers with the necessary water resources simultaneously. Under such conditions, an advantage is gained by those farms that identify their needs more quickly and secure access to the most viable water source well in advance. Farmers are increasingly realizing the risks of water scarcity in the next 3–5 years, even if sources are located right next to their fields. Therefore, a correct and timely choice of water source is the foundation of the entire system.

Sources can include:

• rivers;
• canals;
• reservoirs;
• ponds;
• boreholes (wells).

On average, Variant Irrigation (Variant Agro Build LLC) receives 3–4 inquiries every week from agricultural enterprises that want to install irrigation and have an acute need for it, but lack access to surface water resources.

If there is no access to surface water nearby, the only possible alternative in this case is using groundwater. This requires drilling a borehole or multiple boreholes that will either power a single machine or build up a water reserve in storage reservoirs. However, implementing such a project is feasible for irrigating 50–200 hectares. Providing irrigation for an area of around 1.5 thousand hectares via boreholes is unrealistic—both in terms of implementation timelines and due to the physical shortage of water for such volumes. Unlike Canada, Mexico, the US, or Israel, groundwater in Ukraine has a limited capacity, as a significant portion of the country's water balance is formed by surface water.

As a result, some farmers in the Ukrainian market are already thinking decades ahead and considering various scenarios, such as allocating part of their land to build storage reservoirs and collecting water in them throughout the year (to use in summer when there is insufficient rainfall). However, the estimated area of such a reservoir would need to be roughly 500 hectares, which is immense.

For instance, Variant Irrigation's clients—Kernel company—are exploring options to build storage reservoirs within existing reservoirs owned by the State Water Resources Agency. As WUA (Water Users Association) water users, they would not need to change the land-use designation or convert agricultural land for this project, and within the scale of the existing reservoir, it would only take up about 0.2% of the total area.

Thus, choosing the right water source is the foundation for the success of the entire project.

2. Pumping Station

This is a complex of pumping and power equipment that:

• withdraws water from the source;
• delivers it to the field through pipelines with the necessary pressure and flow rate.

Pumping stations can be:

• electric or diesel;
• stationary or mobile (portable).

3. Pipelines

A system of pipes and valves through which water is transported from the pumping station to the fields.

Pipes can be made of:

• polyethylene (PE);
• PVC;
• fiberglass;
• metal.

The material and diameter of the pipes directly affect the reliability and efficiency of the system.

4. Irrigation Machines (Sprinklers)

These are wheeled metal structures installed in the field that spray water directly onto the crops.

Main types:

• center pivots (circular);
• linear moves (lateral/frontal);
• hose-reel travelers.

Center pivots and linear systems are typically used in commercial farming operations on areas of 80 hectares and larger.

Irrigation is Not an Expense, But an Investment in Stability and Yield

Every element of an irrigation system requires detailed analysis and proper engineering solutions. Mistakes at the start can be costly and negate the expected benefits of irrigation.

Therefore, if you plan to install an irrigation system on your fields, it is worth diving deeper into the subject.

• Be sure to go and see how irrigation works at other farms that have been successfully using it for over 5 years.
• Talk to the farmers, find out about their real-world experience, mistakes, and conclusions.
• Get recommendations on who is best to start working with, and invite a supplier of irrigation machines and equipment to your farm. Let them calculate the entire irrigation system, taking into account your acreage, crops, water source, and financial capabilities.

Only having this information will give you an objective understanding of the cost, technical solutions, and efficiency of your future irrigation system. This exact approach allows you to build irrigation that meets your actual needs and delivers results for many years to come.

Illia Zhemelinskyi, Director of Variant Irrigation (Variant Agro Build LLC)—a Ukrainian manufacturer of irrigation systems.

The material was prepared with the participation of Oleh Kovalchuk, Head of the Irrigation Department for the "Prydniprovskyi" cluster at Kernel, who has many years of hands-on experience in operating irrigation systems.