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Only a third of respondents support the relevant bill.
Almost half of Ukrainians (49%) do not support the adoption of a draft law on the land market, which suggests lifting the farmland sale ban from December 1, 2019, according to the findings of a poll conducted by the Razumkov Center sociological service.
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Only 31% of respondents support the adoption of the draft law, according to the poll.
The study was conducted by the Razumkov Center on September 6-11, 2019. A total of 2,018 respondents aged 18 and older were interviewed in all regions of Ukraine, except for Crimea and the occupied areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where the adult population selected in keeping with key social and demographic indicators was interviewed.
The sample of the poll was multi-stage and random with a quota selection of respondents at the last stage. The theoretical margin of error (excluding the design effect) does not exceed 2.3% with a 0.95% probability.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to draft a bill on farmland by October 1 and asked the parliament to lift the ban on farmland sale, which is currently in effect, until December 1, 2019.
On August 3, newly appointed Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk announced that the opening of the agricultural land market was tentatively scheduled for next summer. By that time, the government together with the National Bank would be able to reduce rates on loans in hryvnias to 14%-15% per annum, he said. The prime minister explained that his government planned to lower interest rates on loans and reduce costs of borrowings specifically for the purchase of farmland, so that Ukrainians could have more favorable conditions than their foreign competitors.
Earlier, Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry and the World Bank predicted that the opening of the agricultural land market could additionally bring the Ukrainian economy from US$700 million to US$1.5 billion every year.