The topic of the land market was discussed today during a round table discussion “Ukrainian Dairy Industry: Challenges and Strategies. Land Market Shaping: An Impulse to Development or Decline? ” held at the 13th International Dairy Congress.

UAC Chairman Andriy Dykun stressed that the issue of land market introduction today is one of the biggest risks for the dairy industry and the reason for the record decrease in cattle livestock, milk production and increase in dairy imports today.

“A few years ago, Ukraine was in the top 10 exporters and today it is a milk importer. Last year, the entire industry lost 96,000 cows. For me, these are catastrophic indicators for the industry, ”he said.

The dairy business, unlike poultry, pig breeding, cannot exist without land. The land is needed to grow solid fodder. Today, dairy farmers do not invest in the development of the dairy business; the situation with the introduction of the land market remains uncertain.

"We emphasize the need for a transitional period in introducing the land market and reducing the concentration of land in one pair of hands to 500 hectares. This approach will allow small farmers to enter the land market without any loss and prevent speculation by large agribusinesses. I hope that the current parliament will have enough wisdom to adopt a prudent law, "Chairman of UAC said.

During the discussion, a step in the land reform during the discussion was voiced by the Member of Parliament of Ukraine Ivan Tchaikivsky, who noted that the amendment to the bill on the land market had been worked out by the deputies.

In particular, there is a proposal to introduce a transitional period of two years. In the first phase - from October 2020 - the right to buy land is granted to individuals and legal entities engaged in dairy farming. According to Tchaikovsky, this will give dairy producers the opportunity to buy land immediately and develop farms. From 2023, all other legal entities are allowed to enter the land market.

It should be reminded that the Ukrainian Agri Council constantly advocated the existence of a transitional period in the land reform. In particular, in the first stage, access to the land market should be granted only to individuals-citizens of Ukraine with a limit of up to 500 hectares. In the second stage - in a few years, when the inventory of agricultural land will be carried out, the work of law enforcement and judicial authorities - the admission to the land market can be granted to legal entities, with the possibility to buy no more than 5000 hectares of land.