The opening of the land market will give a powerful impetus to the agriculture of Ukraine, - reports Olena Kovalova at the World Bank Conference

Introduction of the agricultural land market in Ukraine will create a powerful layer of the middle class in rural areas. This was said in the report of the World Bank's conference on land relations and poverty by the Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Olena Kovalova in Washington. She noted that the government continues to maintain the abolition of the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land in the list of priority tasks and is working to develop the infrastructure of the future land market, the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

In particular, Ukraine became the first country in the world, which at the legislative level introduced monitoring of land relations. The system of the State Land Cadastre has been transferred to the Blockchain technology, which makes it impossible for illegal manipulations with data on land plots. There are an online registration of lease contracts and registration of land plots online. Also, with the goal of decentralization, the process of transferring state-owned land to joint territorial communities has begun.

"The goal of the reform is not to sell for the sake of selling land, even at the most attractive prices, but to create strong and sustainable farming in Ukraine. We sent significant state support to small and medium-sized producers, as the welfare of rural areas depends on their development, " emphasizes Olena Kovalova.

She recalled that the government concept for the introduction of the land market contains a number of conditions that will prevent excessive concentration and speculation and are aimed primarily at protecting the rights of the owner of the land. Thus, the maximum size of agricultural land that can be privately owned is limited to 200 hectares for one person, the introduction of a state fee of 50% of the monetary value in the case of resale of a land plot during the first three years; sale of state agricultural land is possible only through online auctions.

"We appreciate the assistance that international donors and the international expert community have given and continue to provide in the implementation of land reform. I hope that together we will be able to complete this work and build an open civilized land market in Ukraine, which will become the basis of the economic development of the state," emphasizes Olena Kovalova.