REUTERS
Some US$230 million has been earmarked for the agricultural sector in Ukraine's national budget in 2019.
Ukraine's Finance Minister Oksana Markarova says the Cabinet of Ministers proposes that UAH 4.4 billion (US$177.6 million) be allocated for the agricultural sector in the draft national budget for 2020.
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"Some UAH 4.4 billion in support for the agro-industrial complex is a goal-oriented program, which will be specified for [approval by the parliament] in the second reading. It is a program of reducing costs of loans for farmers. It is a very clear and focused program instead of many different ones," she told a briefing after a government meeting on September 15.
In turn, Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said the government decided to significantly change the format of support for the sector.
"Instead of subsidizing large-sized enterprises, we will focus on the following: If land reform takes place, we will be able to compensate the interest rate on loans issued to farmers so that they could have an affordable resource and good conditions to take an active part in purchasing land plots," he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, US$230 million has been earmarked for the agricultural sector in Ukraine's national budget in 2019.