During the first year of the “Land Bank” project, agricultural producers paid 1.19 billion hryvnias (including VAT) for the lease of state agricultural lands. Through electronic auctions in the “Prozorro.Prodazhi” system, 62,194 hectares that were previously used unofficially were transferred to legal use. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.
“Land Bank” — is an example of how transparent and competitive mechanisms can destroy shadow schemes and replace them with real opportunities for farmers. From the first pool of 90.9 thousand hectares, 62 thousand have already been transferred to legal use, and this has brought almost 1.2 billion hryvnias of paid funds that will replenish the state budget. We see effectiveness — and this result needs to be scaled up so that every hectare of state land works for the development of the agricultural sector and the economy, ”, — said the Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Oleksiy Sobolev.
Starting from October 1, 2024, 73.8 thousand hectares of state agricultural land in 19 regions of the country were put up for auction. During this period, 927 contracts were concluded — all based on open and competitive selection.
“We have proven that state land can work effectively and transparently with benefits for both the state and the people. Farmers receive land for use, communities receive a resource, and the state receives stable income. And this is just the beginning — a second pool of land is already being prepared to expand opportunities for Ukrainian farmers within the framework of the “Land Bank”” project, – emphasized the Deputy Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine Ihor Tymoshenko.
High interest from participants (an average of five people per lot) contributed to the formation of the market value of the lease. Today, the average sublease rate is 19.1 thousand hryvnias per hectare per year including VAT.
“The largest revenues for the use of state lands were provided by farmers of the Kharkiv region – 238 million hryvnias including VAT. Despite the difficult conditions of the front-line region, local farms continue to work and develop their business. We observe a consistently high demand for state land among small and medium-sized agribusiness in all 19 regions where the “Land Bank” operates. This confirms the effectiveness of the transparent mechanism that gives everyone fair access to land resources that were previously idle or in the shadows”, – said the general director of “State Land Bank” LLC; Yaroslav Yaroslavsky.
During the year of the auction, participants submitted 4,539 applications. At the same time, 91.3% of the auction winners are representatives of small and medium-sized agribusiness. This indicates a high level of trust and equal conditions for access to state land.
The highest average rent per hectare (including VAT) was recorded in the Lviv region – 54,890 UAH/ha, and in the Ivano-Frankivsk region – 46,792 UAH/ha. The record sublease rate is also paid in the Lviv region – a local farm pays 71,832 UAH/ha per year for a plot of land with an area of 45.1 ha. The lowest average rate was recorded in the Zakarpattia region – 5,115 UAH/ha including VAT. There is also the least competition here – on average two participants per lot.
During the year, the “Land Bank” demonstrated the effectiveness of the implemented approach: state-owned agricultural lands are coming out of the shadows, generating stable budget revenues, and agricultural producers are receiving equal and fair access to resources. This is an example of how transparent tools can change the system of state asset management.
