REUTERS
The priority areas are those where state support has already given a start to development, but has not yet allowed to make a "quantum leap."
Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Taras Vysotskyi says the farmland reform, which suggests a free land market in Ukraine, will attract not only foreign investment in the agricultural sector, but also a large reserve of domestic one.
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"There is a fairly large reserve of domestic investment, which is limited by the fact that it is impossible to start a business in agriculture with confidence for many years ... The freedom – to manage your own land plots – will boost the desire and ability to invest in the agricultural sector of the companies that provide financing technologies and those who grow [agricultural products]," he said at the Ukrainian Agribusiness Forum on November 19.
According to the official, the priority areas are those where state support has already given a start to development, but has not yet allowed to make a "quantum leap."
"When we talk about attracting investment in agribusiness, we mean primarily those areas where, under current conditions, the maximum has already been reached, that is irrigation of land, long-term investment in livestock production, and gardening," he added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, a bill designed to launch the farmland market in Ukraine from October 1, 2020, passed its first reading in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, on November 13.
According to World Bank forecasts, the opening of the agricultural land market may annually inject an additional US$700 million to US$1.5 billion into the Ukrainian economy.