KYIV. Oct 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The land reform in Ukraine should take into account large commodity production and its retaining after revoking a moratorium to sell farmland, the owner of Nibulon agricultural company Oleksiy Vadatursky has said.
“Without passing relevant legislative base that would provide for medium and transparent mechanism for switching to market relations, we would gain return to cultivating land in sections,” the company said in a statement citing Vadatursky.
He said that if the moratorium is annulled, large land parcels will be scattered, which would decrease efficiency of farmland use.
“Of course, each land owner has the right to freely use its ownership. When you are the co-owner of a large stock of land, you should take into account opinions and interests of all. The decision of one person automatically concerns other land owners and influences them,” he said.
Vadatursky said that today a lot of land parcels are cultivated without understanding who is the owner of them. There are many land parcels cultivated by one company, but in fact they have been resold to 10 other companies.
He said that Ukrainian legislation should foresee the right to lease land for a long period of time (20-25 years and more) with the right of getting land lease fees in advance for the whole period when the agreement is in effect.
He said that lawmakers must protect land owners, leasers and investors. Bills must be published to discuss them with the public and experts.
