Last week, IFC - International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank Group) and Global Clearance Solutions signed a Cooperation Agreement to propel innovative finance solutions for mine action and land release in Ukraine.

Until 2022, Ukrainian agricultural products could feed 400 million people around the world annually. Today, more than 25 per cent of the country, or more than 139,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian land is currently economically barren due to contamination by landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW).

The Cooperation Agreement will focus on raising awareness and delivering capacity-building programmes for financial organisations in Ukraine.. The program of activities includes workshops on risk mitigation and humanitarian demining, sharing best practices with relevant stakeholders, providing expert advice on emerging land clearance technologies, and exploring innovative financing mechanisms.

Commenting on the signature of the agreement, GCS CEO and co-founder Philipp von Michaelis said: “We are honoured to work with the IFC and leverage on our long-term expertise, freeing their land of mines and explosive remnants of war. Using our own technology powered by the latest AI and drone technology maximises investment with efficient, cost-effective solutions to restore land to productive economic use.”

Efforts will centre on the identification of solutions that facilitate the clearance of agricultural land in the context of other activities promoted by the IFC on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices, biodiversity restoration and conservation, and carbon farming.