Governmental Decree No. 864 validating Land Reclamation Program to ensure sustainable soil management for 2021-2025 and the Action Plan for its implementation for 2021-2023.

Land Reclamation Program to ensure sustainable soil management for 2021-2025 and the Action Plan for its implementation for 2021-2023 is a nationwide policy document aimed at prevention and reduction of soil degradation and soil erosion, and soil fertility improvement.
The first stage covers 2021-2023 and provides the following works on land reclamation, protection, conservation and increasing soil fertility, carried out for: (a) protecting the soil from the mechanical effects of water and wind (a category that includes a set of activities for the prevention and control of soil erosion); (b) restoration (replenishment) of moisture deficit (category, which includes irrigation of land); (c) prevention or removal of excess moisture from the soil, with its surfaces (a category that includes drainage and land reclamation); and (d) soil restoration (a category that includes works on construction and operation of waterworks, work on selective removal of the soil layer and reclamation of damaged or degraded land, works on reclamation of alkaline and saline soils).
According to scientific institutions in the field of soil science, the current state of soil cover is unsatisfactory on about 50% of agricultural land and on about 10% - critical. Based on these considerations, protection, land reclamation and sustainable use of land are becoming the main strategic objectives in state policy. Degradation of agricultural land of the highest quality causes enormous damage to agricultural sector. The groups that suffer the most from this are the owners of agricultural land and agricultural producers. During the implementation of the Program, it is proposed to conduct reclamation of agricultural land with alkaline and saline soils according to the data specified in table 5.
In order to exercise beneficial effects on the soil shall be implemented the following measures: (a) protection of soil from mechanical impact of water and wind (a category that includes a set of activities for the prevention and control of soil erosion); (b) restoration (replenishment) of moisture deficit in the soil (including land irrigation); (c) prevention or removal of excessive moisture from the soil, from its surfaces (including drainage and land reclamation); (d) soil rehabilitation (including construction and operation of waterworks, selective removal of soil layer and reclamation of damaged or degraded land, reclamation of alkaline and saline soils); (e) soil conservation works; (f) planting of crops to cover the soil in winter; (g) arrangement and maintenance of buffer zones sown with grass; (h) construction/reconstruction on irrigated agricultural land of sloping fields; (i) use of organogenic material (natural manure); (j) transition to environmentally friendly agriculture; and (k) rotation of crops and an increase in livestock.