The state loses from 60 to 70 billion UAH annually from the illegal cultivation of agricultural land and the illegal sale of agricultural products. The Deputy Chairman of UAC Mykhailo Sokolov announced such an information.

"About half of this amount is lost by the state on manipulations, as a result of which the exporters can get VAT from the budget, which was not actually paid. The rest of the funds are lost from non-payment of taxes on the sale of illegally grown products. Both local and state budgets suffer from this. Moreover, it creates a skew in favor of those who work in the shadow" - Mykhailo Sokolov explained.

According to his words, based on various estimates, from 13 to 15 million hectares of agricultural land are cultivated illegally.

"We have about 20 million hectares of land under official cultivation. But not a few years ago. In 2012-2014 (not including the temporarily occupied territories) 35 million hectares were officially cultivated. Therefore, one day these lands were cultivated legally and taxes were paid from them. It turns out that about 15 million hectares are being cultivated illegally today" - the Deputy Chairman of UAC said.

Formally, these lands are cultivated by individuals - people who have taken up the management of their land.

"But this is only formally, because most of these lands are leased illegally and the owners receive money for them without paying taxes. If we go and look at those lands that belong to individuals, we will see that the field is cultivated by a single array. This means that it is not the people who own the land cultivate it, but the farmers who do this illegaly. This is a commercial activity that is hidden from controlling authorities and from which taxes are not paid." - Mykhailo Sokolov emphasizes.

The Verkhovna Rada is currently considering bills №3131, 3131-1 and 3131-2, each of which aims to bring the agricultural sector out of the shadows through various mechanisms. The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy recommended the adoption of the bill №3131, which introduces a minimum amount of taxes to be paid per 1 ha, which will allow to withdraw a significant part of agricultural land from illegal cultivation.