The total amount of land controlled by oligarchs, corrupt individuals, and large
agribusinesses is thus over nine million hectares, exceeding 28 percent of the country’s arable land. The
rest is used by over eight million Ukrainian farmers.
Part 9 - How will the post-war reconstruction plans proposed by international financial institutions affect the agricultural sector?
Ukraine’s staggering and growing foreign debt – estimated at US$132 billion in 2020 – makes it likely that reconstruction will be dictated by international financial institutions and foreign interests, which have already indicated that they will use their leverage to further privatize numerous sectors, including agriculture.
For instance, the World Bank has asserted that Ukraine’s reconstruction must be accompanied by “further liberalization of the agricultural land market,” while the Ukraine Reform Tracker, presented at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in July 2022, states that the post-war moment presents the opportunity to “[extend] the right to purchase agricultural land to legal entities, including foreign ones.”
The post-war reconstruction plans proposed by international financial institutions are therefore laying the groundwork for further concentration of land in the hands of oligarchs, foreign interests, and large agribusinesses.
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