Rada prolongs moratorium on farmland sale until 2019

Bill No. 7350 "On Amendments to Section X of Transitional Provisions of the Land Code of Ukraine regarding the extension of the ban on the alienation of farmland was supported as the basis and as a whole by 236 people's deputies, with a required minimum of 226 votes.

Read alsoUkraine's land reform provides for measures to prevent all risks – MartyniukThe document says that the extension of the moratorium will allow for regulating at the legislative level the procedure for farmland turnover and develop the required norms.

As UNIAN reported earlier, 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 farmland starting 2018 after the moratorium is lifted.

According to the land reform proposed by the government, only Ukrainian citizens could be eligible to purchase land, in case the moratorium is canceled. However, the maximum plot size per citizen shall not exceed 200 hectares.

Read alsoAgrarian official names approx price per hectare if farmland market launches in UkraineAt the same time, the working group under the Ministry of Agrarian Policy allows the possibility of selling land plots to small farms, subject to a number of restrictions.

Since 2001, a moratorium has been effective in Ukraine on farmland turnover. In October 2016, the Verkhovna Rada extended it until the end of 2017.

Experts and public were divided on the issue of lifting the ban on farmland sale. Some believe that the extension creates a shadow market of land, while others argue that the abolition of the moratorium will affect the villagers and facilitate land purchase by foreign companies.