Land reform to let farmers buy land on favorable terms – economist

Economist of the Independent Macroeconomic Forecasts Group (Ukraine) Grigory Kukuruza says the model of land reform developed by Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers will allow small- and medium-sized farmers to participate in bidding for plots of land on favorable terms and avoid competition with large agri-businesses, according to Radio Era.

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"Legal entities and foreigners will not have access to the land market. Accordingly, small- and medium-sized farmers will be able to buy out land assets on more appropriate terms," he said.

Kukuruza also noted that the formation of full-scale ownership of land would stop negative trends observed in agriculture, in particular, soil retrogression and degradation through due to an exhaustive use of land.

Read alsoIMF expects Ukraine to launch land market ASAPHalf of arable land in Ukraine is leased out today, more than half of it is short-term land use with contracts concluded for up to three years.

The expert says such conditions do not create incentives to keep the soil in good condition or invest in it. Yet, ownership of land will induce a more sustainable attitude towards it. Thus, not only farmers but also the Ukrainian agribusiness sector, in general, will benefit if the moratorium on land sales is lifted.

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