The Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC), within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Forum, appealed to the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to promote the abolition of inefficient state support to the agrarian sector, in which payments are made either in favor of large companies or remain unused in the budget. At the same time, farmers suggested sending these funds to compensate for budget revenue losses from adopting bills to reduce VAT rates for some types of agricultural products to 10% (will help reduce retail food prices) and introduce a tax on withdrawn capital (lead to economic development, employment growth and level wages).

"Despite the fact that the state budget allocates unprecedented sums to state support of Ukrainian farmers, real small and medium-sized farmers do not receive it practically... We consider it unacceptable such spending of state funds in a situation where there is a sharp deficit of budget financing of acute social needs, as well as urgent measures stimulating the development of the national economy... We consider it necessary to stop allocating funds to state support to the agrarian sector, as the events of the last year to convince us that the Government and Parliament of Ukraine institutionally incapable of fairly and effectively distribute them", - reads the official request that was sent to the head of state.

Thus, the results of using budget funds under the state support programs of the agrarian sector in 2018 were catastrophic. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and the State Treasury of Ukraine, by the end of September 2018, the programs were provided only for 14%. Thus, from the state budget for 2018, UAH 6.3 billion, at the end of September, only UAH 887 million was paid. At the same time, according to the results of 2017 and nine months of 2018, in favor of the largest agroholdings, 38% and 21% of all budget payments were made, respectively.

Despite this, the Government insists on the continuation of this negative practice. The Cabinet of Ministers has submitted in the draft State Budget 2019 proposals for agricultural subsidies practically identical to those in force in 2018, or even increased funding for non-executed articles. And the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Budget actually supported the Government's policy when considering amendments to the draft Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2019".

At the same time, the Committee rejected all the UAC proposals for changing the distribution and targeting of budget funds to programs that are really demanded by medium and small producers. In particular, farmers offered:

• to limit the amount of compensation for the interest rate on loans under the program "Financial support through cheapening loans" in the amount of 10 million UAH in one hands, taking into account related parties;
• to return the program of so-called "quasi-accumulation of VAT", which was introduced in 2017, and completely canceled this year. Its advantage was the automatic and transparent distribution of funds among agricultural producers without the intervention of officials. However, guided by political motives, the profile ministry, instead of fixing the flaws in the work of this program, which were discovered in 2017, completely stopped its financing. That's why agricultural producers demand in 2019 to increase it to 2 billion UAH and to pay these funds in proportion to the proceeds;
• to reduce the degree of localization of agricultural machinery of domestic production to 20%, which would allow to give a real impetus to the development of Ukrainian tractor and combine industry;
• to make payment of subsidies under the program "Financial support for the development of farms" in proportion to the legal proceeds from the sale of agricultural products, which would create a real incentive to exit the shadow of small farms.

However, the Committee did not support these proposals. Therefore, farmers decided to abandon the proposed state support, which is distributed inefficiently and unfairly, instead, to support the draft laws on reducing the VAT rate on food products to introduce a tax on withdrawn capital.

"Taking into account the above, we ask the Government to consider introducing appropriate changes to the draft State Budget for 2019 and to promote their adoption as those aimed at supporting all, first of all, socially vulnerable groups of the population, as their introduction will result in a decrease in retail prices for food products, as well as the development of the economy, employment growth and wage levels in the event of the introduction of a capital tax", - the statement reads in the text of the appeal to the President.

In addition, farmers urged Poroshenko to determine the specified bills № 7420-1 and № 7420-2 to reduce the rate of VAT urgent for their extraordinary consideration by the Verkhovna Rada. And also apply the authority of the Honorable Chairman of the "Petro Poroshenko Block "Solidarity" party and call the faction of this party in the parliament not to vote for the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2019", if the proposals of the All-Ukrainian Forum on Agriculture will not be taken into account in the draft version of the bill, submitted for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the second reading.