KYIV. Oct 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The bill on agricultural land turnover in Ukraine should be passed in 2018, the World Bank has said.
According to the World Bank’s Special Focus Note on reforming land markets in Ukraine, the key design principles of the bill on agricultural land turnover should be the provision of individuals, legal entities s (with temporary restrictions), municipalities and the state with the right to buy land. Banks can own foreclosed land temporarily; they need to liquidate via e-auction within a certain time frame.
The World Bank said that safeguards in the bill should be the following: no foreign ownership; minimum price; temporary maximum size limit of land ownership for individuals & legal entities; limit on concentration ownership/control; and transparent land management plans for state and communal land.
“The moratorium on agriculture land sales is a major impediment to attracting investment and unlocking productivity in Ukraine’s agricultural sector,” the World Bank said.
According to the document, land reform is critical to improve living standards for the Ukrainian people, by driving higher economic growth and incomes for the population.
The World Bank said that the rental price of agricultural land per hectare is $37 in Ukraine, compared to $195 in France, $219 in Germany, $279 in Bulgaria, and $672 in the Netherlands.
The bank said that the moratorium also undermines the flow of financing to small and medium producers because land cannot be used as collateral. The low registration of state agricultural land is also a major source of nontransparent practices and lost productivity.
As reported, since 2002, Ukraine has imposed a moratorium on sale and purchase of farmland.
