R&D activities

Nowadays, the Institute is a leading science- and methodology center that manages and coordinates relevant R&D activities for problems of soil science, agrochemistry and soils protection for over twenty entities of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The Institute is a head entity in Ukraine relevant to problems of soil science, agrochemistry and soils protection, enlisting 175 employees, including three Academicians, one NAAS Corresponding Member, ten Doctors and thirty-one Candidates.

Efforts of the Institute experts and specialists have been focused on solving the first-priority fundamental and applied objectives aimed at:

  • Elaborating and incrementing systematic knowledge, as well as classification, regionalization and mapping of Ukrainian soils;
  • Diagnostics of soils' agro-eco-status by aid of methods of multi-spectrum scanning & radio-location;
  • Studies for regional features and laws of agro-genous evolution of soils;
  • Theoretical and practical routes of soils fertility management;
  • Measures for soils protection against erosion, deflation and tehno-genous pollution;
  • Creation of up-to-date information & analytical structure for eco-friendly fertilization of agricultures in all variety of soil-climatic areas of Ukraine.

As of 2013, the NSC ISSAR undertakes 45 national projects in five State Research Programs:

  • "Fertility, Protection and Rational Use of Soils" program, involving 33 projects, whereby the NSC ISSAR is the head agency to implement this program;
  • "Organic Production of Agricultural Produce" program, involving 7 projects;
  • "Sustainable Water Use and Reclamation of Lands" program, involving 3 projects;
  • "Agricultural Microbiology" program, involving one project;
  • "Ecological Safety of Agricultural Production" program, involving one project.

There are such scientific schools as:

  • Optimization of agrophysical properties and soils monitoring (headed by Prof. Vitaliy V. Medvedev, Sc. Dr., NAAS Academician);
  • Optimization of mineral nutrition of crops (headed by Prof. Boris S. Nosco, Sc. Dr., NAAS Academician);
  • Agroecology of ameliorated soils (headed by Prof. Roman S. Truskavetskiy, Sc. Dr., NAAS Academician);
  • Evolution, agroecology and normative provisions for irrigated and salinated lands (headed by Prof. Svyatoslav A. Baliuk, Sc. Dr., NAAS Academician);
  • Optimization of agrophysical properties and soils monitoring (headed by Prof.Mykola I. Polupan, Sc. Dr.).

In recent years, the Institute has developed a series of conceptual documents of national significance, such as: 

  • National Draft Program on Soils Fertility Protection;
  • National Report “On Soil Fertility Status in Ukraine”;
  • Concept of Ecological Normative Regulation vs. Man-Caused Impact on Soil Cover;
  •  Concept of Soils Protection against Erosion; 
  • Modern Concept of Chemical Amelioration of Sour and Salinated Soils; 
  • Concept of Agro-Chemical Provisions for Tillage within Period up to 2015;
  • Concept “Turf- Soil Resources of Ukraine”;
  • Target Program “Production and Use of Liquid Mineral Complex Fertilizers in Ukraine (within Period up to 2015)”;
  • System of Voluntary Agricultural-Purpose Land Certification.
  • Simultaneously, the Institute had set forth a series of proposals (into context of the National Program on Development of Agro-Industrial Complex up to 2020') on issues of:
  • Implementing the State policy to renovation and protection of soils fertility,
  • Elimination of soil-degradation phenomena; 
  • Elaboration and management of measures to enhancing the agro-landscape stability;
  • Increase of agricultural crops yield. 

The Institute has contributed much to improvement of juridical and normative-legal basis, including such Draft Laws of Ukraine as: 

  • Updating Definite Legal Acts of Ukraine in Respect to Soils Fertility Preservation;
  • National Program for Soils Fertility Protection;
  • State Authorized Agro-Chemical Certification of Agricultural-Use Land;
  • Organic Agricultural Production;
  • Soils and Fertility thereof, having complemented thereby to Strategy of Balanced Development, reclamation and management of soil resources; 
  • System of priority measures to "Complex program of land reclamation development and improvement of the ecological status of irrigated and drained lands."
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