An innovative tool has been introduced in the State Agrarian Register for farmers to submit applications to participate in the program compensating for the cost of demining agricultural lands. This was reported by the Ministry of Economy’s press service.
The program covers both lands directly owned by farmers and land plots that they lease. The government has allocated 3 billion hryvnias for this program.
«We have introduced a tool in the State Agrarian Register that will greatly simplify the submission of applications by farmers who wish to clear their land with state support. The state compensates 80% of the demining cost,» said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko.
Farmers whose lands are located in de-occupied territories, where contamination or potential contamination with explosive objects has been confirmed after non-technical surveys, can participate in the program.
«The Ministry of Economy has developed transparent procedures and uniform rules for all program participants. Both farmers and demining operators will be able to see how the price is formed, who participates in the auctions, and what the final demining cost of a particular land plot is. I hope that interested farmers will soon take advantage of this opportunity, and we will see the first auctions for demining agricultural land,» explained Deputy Minister of Economy Igor Bezkaravainyi.
The verification of applications submitted by farmers is carried out by the Humanitarian Demining Center. It announces auctions in the Prozorro system for the provision of demining services, and after determining the winner and the final demining cost, transfers 80% of the amount to a special account. The remaining 20% is contributed by the farmer.
Currently, two state banks — PrivatBank and Oschadbank — are participating in the program. Over time, other banks, in which the state share exceeds 50%, will join the program. Farmers need to open an account in any of these banks, where the funds will be transferred after demining.
The demining operator will receive the entire reserved amount after completing the demining and confirming the work done by the Center.
