Ukraine's second phase of land reform sparks controversy among small- and medium-sized farmers who want to keep previous terms

The New Voice of Ukraine
·2 min read
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Since January 1, legal entities have been entitled to purchase land in Ukraine, and the limit has increased from 100 hectares to 10 thousand hectares
Since January 1, legal entities have been entitled to purchase land in Ukraine, and the limit has increased from 100 hectares to 10 thousand hectares

The second phase of Ukraine's land reform, which began on Jan. 1 and allows legal entities to purchase agricultural land with an increased limit of up to 10,000 hectares, has sparked controversy among small and medium-seized farmers, who are demanding that the old conditions with a quota of 100 hectares be maintained.

Read also: How Ukraine keeps its agriculture afloat in wartime

Member of Parliament and former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov, along with a group of fellow parliamentarians, introduced a bill to postpone the opening of the land market to legal entities and to increase the amount of land that can be owned by one person until Jan. 1, 2025.

On Jan. 1 the second phase of the reforms came into force, which opened the market for legal entities residing in Ukraine and increased the limits of land plot sizes by 100 times in comparison with the first phase. The minimum purchase price for agricultural land should not be lower than thenormative monetary value and leaseholders retain the right of first refusal to purchase land plots. Foreigners still have no right to buy or sell land. The sale of municipal and state land remains prohibited.

Read also: Polish farmers to end blockade at one blocked Ukrainian border checkpoint

The land market in Ukraine was opened on July 1, 2021, when a law entitled "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Conditions of Sale of Agricultural Land" came into force.

Denis Marchuk, Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, and Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an MP from the opposition party Holos (Voice), explained to NV why farmers oppose these changes and whether there is a chance to postpone the reform.

A petition was posted on the President's website proposing that the previous limits be maintained until the end of the war. It quickly received the required 25,000 votes, obliging Volodymyr Zelenskyy to instruct the government to consider the risks associated with this petition.

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