The new Land Bank project for leasing state-owned agricultural land is aimed at enabling farmers to effectively use state land.

Viktoriia Kipriianova, legal advisor of the Ukrainian Agri Council, explained the mechanism of state land lease during a broadcast on Suspilne.

“This is what farmers have been waiting for a long time - the opportunity to provide land with an effective owner. This is especially important for those farmers who have left the occupied territories. They were able to take out their equipment and personnel, but they need access to land to continue their activities,” said Viktoria Kipriianova.

The key difference of the new approach is that now state-owned land, which previously could not be leased or subleased, will be withdrawn from permanent use and offered at open auctions through the Prozorro platform. This will allow the state not to lose money due to inefficient use of land.

“Currently, 24 plots have already been published on Prozorro, and everyone can be familiarized with the details and results of the auctions. One of the advantages for farmers is that the lease terms are set for a long term - at least 14 years for arable land and 25 years for land with perennial plantations. This is important for planning long-term activities of farmers,” said Victoria Kipriianova. She added that the lease agreement could be terminated in case of non-payment of rent, misuse or deterioration of the land.

According to the expert, the minimum rent is set at 12% of the normative monetary value of the land, and these funds from the lease will be distributed as follows: 90% to the state budget and 10% to local communities.