Only Ukrainian citizens and Ukrainian companies can buy Ukrainian land. Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk announced during a conference dedicated to the land resource management issues “Land as a Factor in the Development of Ukrainian Village”.

“In the country for over 30 years, for some reason, only officials manage the land. Do you like? I don’t. I want the land to be run by a simple Ukrainian so that a rural dweller could go to the bank, take a loan and invest in his/her land. With that purpose we are opening up the land market”, said Oleksiy Honcharuk.

The PM explained that it had been planned to launch the land market from July next year. “However, after consultations with different parties, we decided to delay the start. Here is the seasonal variability of the agricultural sector and the importance for farmers, shareholders and farmers to have some leeway to gear up for the new rules of activities. Therefore, the reform will only come into force in a year - from October 1, 2020”, the Prime Minister told.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister announced the launch of a Cheap Loan Support Program for the purchase of land, equipment or machinery. The program will be operational since 2020.

Oleksiy Honcharuk explained that the land sale process will be carried out exceptionally through public online auctions at a starting price not lower than the normative monetary land assessment. If desired a land share owner can sell the land through e-bidding.

“Among other problems, corruption in such a body as the State Geo Cadastre still remains urgent to solve. We will also settle this issue. In the near future, we are planning to replace the leadership of this body. The State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre should operate guided by the principles of transparency and openness aimed to protect the interests of citizens, not of any particular persons”, Oleksiy Honcharuk added.

According to the Prime Minister, protecting the rights of agrarians, farmers and rural dwellers is a top priority for his team.

That is why the Government has set up a free hotline - 1545, where any citizen of Ukraine can call to consult on any land reform issue.