After the pension reform in Ukraine must finally appear, and the land market is one of the requirements of the Memorandum of cooperation with the IMF. The timing is set hard, until the end of may, but the deputies, and experts say that the actual law on the land market will be adopted before the end of the year. And he begins to act with 2018, then the expiration of the moratorium on sale of farmland.
As explained by Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman, the government has relied on the development of the farm: in one hand sell no more than 200 ha (large agricultural holdings now rent tens of thousands of hectares), and to buy land only to physical persons — citizens of Ukraine. However, it is obvious that this rule is easy to circumvent by making the nominal owners of erostructures several fictitious farmers-Ukrainians, each of whom on paper will own 200 hectares.
According to people’s Deputy Pavlo Rizanenko, a law can be adopted before the end of the year, but it will be very a compromise: “most Likely, will take the proposals of the Cabinet as a compromise to prevent social unrest, they say, sell out Ukraine. Although the owners of the land it is profitable with adequate prices per hectare. With the development of the market can gradually make changes by allowing them to buy land to legal entities, and in 10-15 years, perhaps, to foreigners, it is a world practice”.
As for the cost of the land, then, according to the Deputy, it will be determined by the market. According to preliminary estimates, it can be from $500 to $5,000 per hectare. “Today,” with the help of experts assessed the pros and cons of what the earth can become a commodity, both for the country and for the owners of the shares.
PROS: COME ALIVE VILLAGE PEOPLE EARN
The main positive aspects of lifting the ban on the sale of agricultural land ex-member of the agrarian Committee of the Verkhovna Rada Mikhail Apostol, expert of the agricultural market Oleksiy katyukha and the President Ukranalittsentra Alexander Ohrimenko consider:
– Billions of dollars for the sold shares will pull out of poverty the village as the elderly will receive capital that will live (for example, putting the Bank at interest). Estimated for all the shares of six million owners can get $28-30 billion;
New owners of land will implement advanced technologies, purchase modern equipment, which now turn on a tiny peasant plots will increase productivity;
– Improve the investment climate and the revenue budget: the businessman bought the land, planted vegetables, built a processing plant that sells canned goods, pays taxes;
– There will be new jobs, as new owners will need workers;
– Stop the outflow of youth from the village, will increase the skill level of the farmers, as they need to be, roughly speaking, aunts hoes, and the operators of the computers that will monitor the operation of the equipment.
“A local farmer to establish a firm with a relative, a neighbor, a countryman, a young family will buy a credit house in the village, will receive agricultural education, open a business, for example, garden, growing vegetables and berries. The law needs to take, but after the public discussion and under the strict control of the state,” says the Apostle.
While Okhrimenko noted that the sale of the units is voluntary, but it is necessary to introduce penalties for their owners because they don’t cultivate the land. The alternative to self — management- for rent or sale.
CONS: BRIBES, PRICES AND DEPLETION
The main danger from the sale of land shares are hidden, in the opinion of our experts, at the level of execution. And they are pretty serious and need to be clear on the details of the law “On agricultural land market” and other legislative acts.
– Using legal illiteracy of the villagers, the units they can buy on the cheap. Possible forced sale under pressure from the heads of local authorities, and the “right” people and credit. Also, the mass selling of plots, especially by citizens-heirs, could collapse in land prices.
– Bloom of corruption on the part of officials, pereoformlyali right to the land, saying, I want to make a deal and get the money to pay. There will be more assaults by local and visiting thugs on old people that sold you the unit.
– A ban on selling land only to citizens of Ukraine will bypass above all foreigners. For example, creating a farm with a dummy head-a Ukrainian. Also Okhrimenko believes that 200 hectares of the allotment is small, in order to create an effective economy.
– If non-resident foreigners will be able to implement the scheme with bogus farms (yet the proposals of the Cabinet precluded), they will train the local staff, and will deliver qualified workers from outside and even from abroad. It will not allow to develop the Ukrainian provinces, exacerbate tensions in society, resulting in conflicts between locals and “newcomers”.
– To obtain high profits, the new owners will not observe the rotation, which will Deplete the land (for example, to plant only sunflower or canola, which are in demand abroad).
RENTALS: THE OWNERS PAY 10 HRYVNIA PER SQ. M. PER YEAR
While in Ukraine the market of land, arable land from villagers rented mostly by local farmers. According to the state service statistics, is now nearly 6.9 million people own shares of agricultural land with a total area of approximately 27.7 million hectares, which is about 80% of arable land, the rest in gossobstvennosti. Alas, as reported by the Gosgeokadastr pay the tenants for the use of land minuscule: an average of 1000 UAH per year per hectare. And in the South-East of the country, where the soil is less fertile, their owners get even less. For example, in the Kherson area the rent is 762 UAH/ha per year in Zaporizhzhya — 721 UAH/ha, in Donetsk — 790.
The cheapest mountain areas in the Carpathians — only 596 UAH/ha per year. And the most expensive Poltava and Cherkasy black, here rent and accordingly 2243 2215 UAH/ha per year. Given that the average size of share in Ukraine is 4 hectares, the peasants in the Poltava province max can earn in your area at least 9 thousand UAH per year. But in the foothill regions of the units much smaller, only 0.7 to 1.2 hectares per person, as there is less agricultural land and large families. So there is a lease generally underdeveloped, mostly people take yourself.
YOU PAY A LITTLE. According to the President Ukranalittsentra Alexander Ohrimenko, the rent should be much higher: “the Profitability of agriculture, according to estimates by the state statistics service, is 30-32%, so farmers and agricultural holdings can pay 10-20 thousand per year for the rent per hectare — says Okhrimenko. — Then the villager-retired can get 800-1500 UAH per month, for the village a lot of money”.
Farmers believe such payments are appropriate. “In each hectare annually it is necessary to invest not less than 15 thousand just for plowing, seeds, fertilizers. And the cost of growing, harvesting and storing the crop, the salary to workers. Planting acres of potatoes, you can earn at the end of the year 15-20 thousand UAH, collected if you sell to buyers at 60-80 kopecks./kg. of grain For a profit twice, but the risks of crop failure, too, so 10 thousand UAH / ha — price unreal,” — says a farmer from Chernigov Nikolai butsenko.
The expert of the agricultural market Andrey Katya explained to us that the low rental prices of the units appeared because most of their owners — pensioners or their heirs who own land are unable to handle: “the elderly have no strength, and the youth is living or at least working in the cities. To care for the earth, need equipment, money, knowledge. So people it is cheaper to take a vacant plot to rent to someone who will pay something than to have nothing. The situation may change dramatically with the introduction of the land market.”
