An electronic petition to the President of Ukraine to postpone the possibility of selling tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land in wartime has already collected more than 22,000 votes out of the required 25,000. The petition was initiated by the UAC, but received the support of ordinary citizens, as the land issue concerns not only farmers.

The Chairman of the UAC, Andrii Dykun, explained why the land issue resonates with society:

"The land issue hurts all citizens. If the financing of paving in the capital causes a public outcry, it is not surprising that the sale of 10,000 hectares of land also causes indignation. When the country has been at war for almost 2 years, the question arises: who has the money to buy tens of thousands of hectares? Why isn't this money used to defend the country?"

The issue of the frontline, occupied and recently liberated territories remains unregulated in the context of the agricultural land market.

"Even the state program of preferential lending "5-7-9" does not work on the territory 40 km from the front line. And there are many working agricultural enterprises there. What should they do on January 1, 2024, and how should they buy land? Today, military farmers pay for land with their blood, and they will not return from the front to their business on January 1. The law also does not regulate the situation of occupied farms. There are many questions to lawmakers about the launch of the second stage of land reform. We are asking the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy to organize committee discussion to hear all land market participants, but our two-month dialogue with MPs has not yet given any results. We have received no support from either the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food or the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. And now not only farmers, but all Ukrainians are addressing the President through our petition," said Andrii Dykun.

Video of Andrii Dykun's speech - https://www.youtube.com/live/7F8WQDWPaEw?si=DftFCwrGgOyGxbRS

Sign the petition - https://petition.president.gov.ua/petition/209616