Share of Ukrainians not willing to sell farmland to foreigners shrinks in 2021 – poll

The share of Ukrainian citizens who do not want farmland to be sold to foreigners has slightly shrunk in 2021, to 79% against 81% in 2019.

Director of the Rating Sociological Group Oleksiy Antypovych announced this at a press conference on Thursday, presenting the findings of a survey conducted on April 23-27, 2021.

Meanwhile, a mere 15% of Ukrainians back such an initiative.

According to the poll, more than three-quarters (77%) of Ukrainians are convinced the decision to launch an agricultural farmland market in the country should have been made at an all-Ukrainian referendum. Some 58% of those polled would agree to take part in such a referendum.

Read alsoEU welcomes Ukraine's bill on decentralized land management"We asked the pollees how they would vote in this referendum on the question 'Do you support the launch of a market for the purchase and sale of farmland?' A total of 31% would vote for, while 54% of the respondents would not support this question at the referendum. There are also some people who were undecided or would not take part in the referendum. If we convert the above figures into 100% with only 'yes' or 'no' answers, 36% were in favor of the farmland market, while 64% were against it," Antypovych said.

At the same time, two-thirds of the respondents are aware of the launch of the farmland market in Ukraine from July 1, 2021 (46% have heard a lot about it, 32% have heard something), and 22% know nothing about it. The latter are mainly among young people, city residents and those who do not have land plots.

A third of the respondents believe the president of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada had the greatest influence on the decision to introduce the farmland market. Another 12% believe the government influenced the relevant decision.

Background

• On April 28, 2020, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill into law to amend certain legislative acts of Ukraine on the conditions of circulation of farmland No. 552-IX, which was approved by the Verkhovna Rada on March 31, 2020. The document is designed to launch the farmland market in Ukraine from July 1, 2020.
• The law provides for gradual 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.
• Zelensky assured the citizens of other states and foreign companies would be able to purchase the Ukrainian farmland only if the Ukrainian people agreed to this in a referendum.