After hours of debate in the Verkhovna Rada where tempers flared, the majority of Ukrainian lawmakers passed a bill lifting the ban on buying and selling farmland. It received 240 votes, requiring 226 to pass.
This was the first reading and, if the bill is adopted in the second reading and signed by the president, it will introduce a land market by removing the existing ban on sales of agricultural land. That would allow Ukrainians and Ukrainian-registered companies to trade land.
However, the bill has faced opposition both inside and outside of the Verkhovna Rada. While dozens of farmers and activists gathered outside the parliament, lawmakers from the 24-seat Batkivshchyna and 44-seat Opposition Platform – For Life factions blocked the tribune in the session hall in protest. They were expressing concerns that Ukrainian farmers will be driven out by wealthy oligarchs and companies.
International institutions have largely supported the open land market as a measure to attract investment into Ukraine’s agricultural sector. It has been mentioned multiple times as a key requirement for receiving another International Monetary Fund aid package.
“Land reform is needed for Ukrainian farmers to buy and sell agricultural land, access credit, invest and diversify, as well as for land owners to get proper return for their most valuable asset,” reads a World Bank statement from Nov. 9.
