Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Signs Land Market Bill into Law

28 April 2020 15:37

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs the bill on the agricultural land market into law.The Office of the President of Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the bill on the agricultural land market into law.

This was reported by the press service of the President's Office.

“This is a historic moment for all Ukrainians and for me personally. Ukraine has been waiting for this law since independence. It was an uphill battle. But we knew we were doing it for Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said.

This comes a month after the Ukrainian parliament adopted the Law on the Agricultural Land Market in its second reading and in general on the night of March 31. 259 MPs voted in favor of this decision. The Parliament had been considering the land market bill since February 6, 2020. Before the second reading, the deputies submitted 4,018 amendments.

The land market law adopted by the Parliament stipulates that agricultural land will be made available to buy and sell from July 1, 2021, but only to individuals and up to 100 hectares. As of January 1, 2024, legal entities owned by Ukrainians will also be able to make use of the newly signed law. They will be able to buy up to 10,000 hectares of land.

Zelenskyy believes that the law on the agricultural land market should ensure the constitutional rights of the citizens of Ukraine to dispose of their property, and will also allow to expand investment opportunities in the agricultural sector of Ukraine.

The law was one of the requirements of the International Monetary Fund to sign a new $5.5-8 billion loan program. The only unfulfilled requirement now is the adoption of so-called banking law, which should definitively prohibit the return of bankrupt (and nationalized) banks to their former owners.

According to sociological surveys of the Razumkov Center, only 21.4% of Ukrainians support the introduction of the agricultural market.