Ukrainian farmers are now defending Ukraine with weapons in their hands. While some are on the front line, others are given the opportunity to buy land of 10,000 hectares. Some farms are occupied, while others have been operating at a loss for the second year in a row and are unable to buy land. All farmers should have the right to buy land on an equal footing, so today they are asking the authorities not to increase the limits on land sales and leave them at the current level of 100 hectares per an enterprise.

The farmers recorded their video addresses to Volodymyr Zelenskyi, hoping that their voice from the front line will be heard. 

Oleksandr Mohylevtsev, a farmer and owner of a farm in Zaporizhzhia region, which is now fully occupied, said:

"My farm was "nationalized" by Russia and looted, I was in Russian captivity, and since the beginning of 2023 I have been in the ranks of the Armed Forces. Today, farmers are holding on because they believe in victory and Ukraine without corruption. The sale of land is out of the question now. For whom are we defending and liberating our land? Many farmers have already been killed; lots of them are fighting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Today, there is no Ukrainian village from which defenders have not gone to the front line. The President must hear Ukrainian farmers and find a solution that will allow the agricultural sector to be developed exclusively by patriots of our country after the war and preserve Ukrainian villages!"

Farmers ask the authorities to pay attention to the agricultural rear and to those who have been keeping the food security in the wartime from the very beginning.

Valeriy Martyshko is the founder of the RODYNA 2007 farm in Kyiv region, which has 1,400 hectares under cultivation. Today, the farmer is in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, defending Ukrainian lands in the Bakhmut sector.

"We are performing combat missions and suffering losses. Today I am defending my land with arms in my hands. And the decision that comes into force regarding the sale of large land plots, 10,000 hectares to one enterprise, is inappropriate. I would like to address the President regarding the agricultural land market, this topic is not clear.  We are paying a very high price for Ukrainian land; it is littered with corpses - we have a problem with evacuating the dead ones. A lot of land in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions is not cultivated because it is mined, and this is a terrible picture. Agricultural infrastructure is being deliberately destroyed by the enemy. Despite the war, we face other difficulties in the agricultural sector: low grain prices, high production costs, and operating at a loss. On behalf of small and medium-sized farmers who are already dying, I appeal to the authorities to postpone the sale of large land plots, not to sell more than 100 hectares to one enterprise," said Valeriy Martyshko.

Farmer Nazar Svidelsky is serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In his opinion, from January 1, 2024, anyone will be able to buy land, but not commodity producers. "I am very concerned about the sale of agricultural land. The land will now be bought by those who have money, and these are corrupt officials and citizens of other countries. But not the farmers who work on this land, because they suffer losses. It is very difficult to sell agricultural products today. It is necessary to impose a moratorium on the sale of 10,000 hectares for the duration of martial law. When we reach the borders of 2021, we should consider this issue," the farmer is sure.

More than 7,000 people have signed the petition to postpone the increase in land sale limits. We invite everyone who cares about Ukrainian land to join in - https://petition.president.gov.ua/petition/209616