The bill has passed its second reading / Photo from UNIAN
The document was backed by 259 MPs.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has passed a bill on agricultural land, which is launching the farmland market in the country from July 1, 2021.
As many as 259 lawmakers voted for the adoption of the bill in the second reading and as a whole, with the required minimum being 226 votes.
As indicated in the comparative table prepared for the second reading of the bill, only individuals from Ukraine can acquire ownership of plots of agricultural land from July 1, 2021.
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Yet, one individual should not own more than 100 hectares.
From January 1, 2024, legal entities which are registered in Ukraine and whose stakeholders are citizens of Ukraine will be allowed to buy up to 10,000 ha of farmland.
Farmland will not be sold to foreigners, legal entities with foreign shareholders and legal entities whose beneficiaries cannot be identified or whose beneficiaries are registered in offshore zones, as well as to persons under special economic and other sanctions.
What is more, the newly passed document outlaws the sale of community- and state-owned agricultural land.
Payment for agricultural land shall be handled in non-cash form.
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers was given six months from the date of the publication of the law to develop and formalize the procedure for financial support for citizens and legal entities (including farms) in buying agricultural land. The Cabinet shall also amend the national budget to set up the Rural Development Fund.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada on November 13, 2019, adopted a draft law in the first reading to amend certain legislative acts concerning the turnover of agricultural land (No. 2178-10).