SPIKE tractors will work in the communities of Lviv region to combat the Sosnovsky hogweed

The Starosambir and Khyriv communities of Lviv region have received tractors, plows and mowers to combat the Sosnovsky hogweed. This is the next stage of the transfer of equipment within the framework of the international project “Protection of the biodiversity of transboundary territories of Ukraine and Poland from invasive populations of hogweed (Heracleum)”.

The main goal of the initiative is to stop the spread of the Sosnovsky hogweed, which harms not only the environment, but also agricultural lands, complicates their cultivation and reduces the efficiency of land use, the Department of Agroindustrial Development of the Lviv Regional State Administration reports.

“For the region, this is not just a separate project, but part of systematic work in the field of environmental safety and effective use of land resources. It is important that the Lviv region has joined the co-financing of the project: 10% of its budget is provided at the expense of the regional budget, as well as funds from nine territorial communities, which are directed to the purchase of machinery, equipment and work on the destruction of hogweed. This approach indicates the priority of investments in initiatives with an applied result that increase the efficiency of land resource use and strengthen the capacity of communities,” said Lyudmila Honcharenko, Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Development of the Lviv Regional State Administration.

SPIKE tractors will help communities mechanically destroy hogweed, cultivate affected areas and systematically control the spread of a dangerous invasive plant.

“It is important for us that SPIKE equipment will work in the project with a practical result for communities. Hogweed is not only an environmental problem, but also a challenge for lands that must be used effectively. The Ukrainian tractor should be a tool for the following tasks: in communities, municipal enterprises, the agricultural sector and restoration projects. We are grateful to our partners for their trust in the domestic manufacturer,” said Andriy Teplyuk, head of Agro Kar Ukraine, during the handover of the equipment on May 4.

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The project “Protection of biodiversity of transborder territories of Ukraine and Poland from invasive populations of hogweed (Heracleum)” is funded by the European Union within the framework of the Interreg NEXT Poland-Ukraine 2021-2027 Program. It is implemented by the Lviv Agrarian Chamber in partnership with the Lviv National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after Grzyczycki, the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, the University of Natural Sciences in Lublin and the Lublin Izba Rolnicha.