As a result of Russian aggression, Ukraine has lost dozens of scientific institutions, research stations and nature reserves. However, unique collections of medicinal plants and fruit crops, created in Crimea before the 2014 occupation, were saved. The National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine maintains and develops the largest collections of relevant plants today, UNN writes.
Details
The Russian occupation of part of Ukraine in 2014 significantly affected science, in particular in the field of medicinal plant growing, which was traditionally concentrated in the south of Ukraine. In annexed Crimea, key scientific institutions that studied essential oil crops that have high biological, nutritional and pharmacological value and are the main raw material for the production of medicines and cosmetics were under occupation.
"In the annexed territory, such institutions of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine as the Institute of Essential Oil and Medicinal Plants in Simferopol and the Nikitsky Botanical Garden – National Scientific Center in Yalta, which had significant achievements in the field of scientific and methodological support of essential oil production, cultivation of essential oil raw materials, creation of varieties of essential oil crops, their seed production and nursery", − says in analytical materials of scientists.
According to scientists, part of the material was evacuated before the complete loss of control over the peninsula, and the other part was saved by creating duplicate collections on the mainland of Ukraine. Today, the Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Sciences continues to work on the reproduction of the unique gene pool of Crimean horticulture and preserves the largest collection of southern plants in Ukraine, which has no analogues in any other scientific institution in the country.
At the same time, researchers note that the total collection of the gene pool of medicinal and essential oil plants of the Experimental Station of Medicinal Plants of the Institute of Agroecology and Nature Management of the National Academy of Sciences currently includes more than 1,100 samples of almost 500 different plant species. If we take into account additional working collections of seeds and living plants, this figure exceeds 2,500 samples.
Thus, in the context of the loss of part of the scientific infrastructure as a result of the Russian occupation, Ukraine not only managed to preserve a critically important part of the gene pool of medicinal and essential oil crops, but also continues systematic work on its restoration. The efforts of scientists and institutions of the National Academy of Sciences play a key role in preserving biodiversity, food security and scientific succession. At the same time, the state should support these initiatives - not only as a response to losses, but as a strategic investment in the future of agricultural science, pharmaceuticals and sustainable development in the face of global challenges.
Let us remind you
Experts reported that the scientific institutes of the National Academy of Sciences provide Ukrainian farmers with domestic varieties for crop production and horticulture, which are popular among the population and have high potential in the international market. Ukraine has the necessary knowledge and specialists to support this process. At the same time, the withdrawal of land from the National Academy of Sciences in favor of the State Property Fund poses a real risk of losing not only infrastructure, but also the ability to reproduce itself - in this case, the state will be forced to purchase relevant technologies abroad. A significant part of breeding work is already under threat: both the one that has been completed and included in official registers, and the one that is at the final stage. At the same time, the cost of similar scientific and breeding developments abroad, in particular in Europe, usually ranges from several hundred thousand to tens of millions of dollars, while in Ukraine similar results are often achieved at minimal cost.