REUTERS
The law on the farmland market passed this year will change the situation for the better, the president believes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the lack of a transparent market is the reason behind the prices of Ukrainian farmland being among Europe's lowest.
Speaking at the "Farmland for the People" forum in Chernihiv region, the president said the law on the farmland market passed this year would change the situation for the better, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
"The lack of a transparent market has led to the fact that we have one of the lowest price per hectare of farmland in Europe. We promised to give Ukrainians real ownership of their farmland, and we did it. We made the reform precisely for Ukrainians," Zelensky said.
President on farmland market in Ukraine
Zelensky says previously, politicians would create a screen of the alleged care for the people and protection of Ukrainian farmland, which supposedly belongs to citizens. But at the same time, they did not allow people to become full-fledged owners, i.e. to own, use, and independently dispose of their land plots.
"For decades, the constitutional right of the seven million Ukrainian landowners has been grossly violated. Politicians would kiss dirt at the Verkhovna Rada rostrum, intimidate people with claims that China would come and buy all our farmland, taking it out by rail. Throughout this time, almost a million landowners died so they will never become real owners of their land," he said.
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Background
On April 28, 2020, Zelensky enacted the law amending certain legislative acts on farmland circulation (No. 552-IX), approved by the Verkhovna Rada on March 31, 2020.
The law provides for phased land reform: from July 1, 2021, only citizens of Ukraine will be able to buy up to 100 hectares of farmland. During the second stage to be launched on January 1, 2024, the cap will rise to 10,000 ha, while legal entities will gain access to the market.