Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman strongly opposes the sale of agricultural land to large agri-businesses and foreigners in case of lifting the moratorium on the sale of arable land in Ukraine.
"Of course, we should not sell land to either large [agro] holdings or foreigners. I strongly object to it. Everything will be in the interests of Ukrainian citizens," he said.
Groysman also noted that Ukraine needs to open its land market as soon as possible, but with a number of stringent restrictions.
"We need to hold a discussion, take every precaution so that no one could plunder anyone. We need to allow Ukrainians to sell their land ... This is a debatable and very sensitive issue, but debates need to take place," the prime minister added.
Read alsoOpen land market to stimulate investment in agrarian projects – expertPreviously, Groysman repeatedly stressed that, according to the land reform proposed by the government, only Ukrainian citizens, individuals, could be able to buy land, in case of lifting the moratorium. However, the maximum plot size owned by one citizen should not exceed 200 hectares.
In the near future, the Cabinet intends to create an interdepartmental ad hoc group consisting of government members, lawmakers, representatives of relevant agrarian associations and experts, who will develop a concept for the first stage of the land reform in Ukraine.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the moratorium on the purchase and sale of agricultural land in Ukraine had been in effect since 2001. In October 2016, the Verkhovna Rada extended it until the end of 2017.
The memorandum with the International Monetary Fund states that Ukraine planned to adopt by the end of May 2017 a law regulating the turnover of agricultural land, as well as to begin selling agricultural land starting from 2018 after the end of the moratorium.
However, experts and society have different views on the issue of lifting the ban on the sale of agricultural land. Some believe that its extension creates a shadow market for land, while others argue that the abolition of the moratorium will lead to dispossession of rural residents of their land and the purchase of it by foreign companies.
Ukraine's Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry predicts that the economic effect of the launch of the Ukrainian land market will be noticeable not earlier than in five or seven years.