Concentration of Resources: Why Ukrainian Farmers Are Losing the Battle for Land
29 April 18:52
The size of Ukraine’s agricultural land market has already exceeded one million hectares this year. Both large companies and small farmers are competing for land in this market. *Komersant* investigated the nature of this competition
The total area of agricultural land in Ukraine was over 40 million hectares even before the full-scale war began. Currently, according to some rough estimates, it has shrunk by 20%.
One-third of the land is state- or municipally-owned. Two years ago, as part of preparations to launch the Land Bank, the State Property Fund cited a figure of 806,000 hectares belonging to the state.
Starting in August 2024, farmers will receive state-owned land for their lawful use through auctions organized by this bank. However, the majority of agricultural land—about two-thirds—belongs to private owners.
This is the land that came into their possession as a result of land privatization.
As a reminder, the process of distributing land from former collective and state farms among farm members, with them receiving certificates of ownership, took place as early as the second half of the 1990s. It is agreements with the current owners of these land shares that primarily shape the land market in Ukraine, where both farmers and agricultural holdings compete for this land resource.
The Battle for Land
Since the effective lifting of the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land on July 1, 2021, and as of March 3, 2026, 334,803 land sale agreements have been concluded in Ukraine, covering a total area of 1.001 million hectares.
The average price per hectare during this period rose by 96% in hryvnia terms and stood at 64,631 hryvnia, or $1,501, as of early 2026. The highest number of transactions for the entire period of the land market’s operation in Ukraine was recorded in Sumy (32,396), Poltava (31,478), and Vinnytsia (27,970) regions. These figures are cited by the State Geocadastre. And behind these dry figures lie many examples of fierce competition for land among those who want to farm it. Farmers often find themselves at a disadvantage in this struggle. Here is how Viktor Goncharenko, president of the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine, describes the situation .
“The land issue is the number one problem. Today, there are many complaints that land is being bought up in some places, while in others it is being ‘squeezed out’ of farmers. For example, the lease term for a plot of land hasn’t even expired yet, and they’re already trying by every means possible to take it away from a small-scale producer. This happens frequently and practically throughout the entire country. Farmers take these issues to court, but the process is often delayed. Sometimes the courts rule in the farmer’s favor, but due to the delays in court proceedings, farmers often cannot compete with large companies that have both qualified legal teams and sufficient funds. They are far more organized. In contrast, farmers—and especially small-scale farmers—are the least protected,” notes the farmers’ representative.
As is known, the land market in Ukraine officially began operating on July 1, 2021. Initially, individuals were granted the right to purchase up to 100 hectares of land. On January 1, 2024, the second phase began: legal entities were allowed to join the process, and the limit was increased to 10,000 hectares. It was precisely after this that the market became more active.
This was evident, first and foremost, in the volume of land sold and rising prices. For example, in 2023, 114,100 hectares were sold, with an average price of 38,804 UAH/ha; in 2024—320,600 hectares, with an average price of 46,678 UAH/ha; in 2025, 356,500 hectares were sold, and the average price reached 57,408 UAH/ha; this year, it has already risen to 64,631 UAH/ha.
The issue of land concentration has become increasingly relevant and acute.
As is well known, Ukrainian legislation sets a limit on the maximum area of agricultural land that can be owned—no more than 10,000 hectares per owner. But the risks of concentration are not limited to this figure, since in a competitive economy, what matters is not only how much land a company ultimately owns, but also where exactly it is located and what share of local resources it controls.
This is precisely what the authors of the study emphasize, having assessed the extent of agricultural land concentration and farmers’ access to it using specific communities as examples.
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According to Oleksandra Romanova, an expert in the agriculture department at the Ecodia Center and coordinator of the Land Matrix project in Eastern Europe, the study covered communities in Vinnytsia Oblast, as well as select communities in Kyiv and Sumy Oblasts, and its results give researchers grounds to speak of a high level of land concentration in certain communities.
“A high level of concentration is observed, for example, in the Ladyzhyn community of Vinnytsia Oblast, where Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) cultivates 46.3%, and in the Haisyn community, where Ukrprominvest-Agro (Roshen) cultivates 42%. And in the Kovalevska community of Kyiv Oblast, the “Svitanok” Group cultivates 73.6% of agricultural land. At present, we are not speaking of a monopoly in the land market; however, examples of specific communities serve as “red flags” that warrant attention. “We are now seeing how land concentration and the dominance of large agricultural companies are converging in communities. In such a situation, the risk lies not so much in a formal monopoly as in the gradual narrowing of opportunities for small farmers,” the expert emphasizes.
She believes that the issue of equal access to land in Ukraine is very acute, and this is particularly felt at the community level.
According to Oleksandra Romanova, the study’s findings show that a significant portion of agricultural land is already concentrated in the hands of large agribusinesses, while small farms face certain limitations when it comes to expanding or even maintaining their operations.
“Small farmers lose out to agricultural holdings, particularly due to a lack of finances, access to information, and legal support. Additionally, the land lease market is often opaque, and some land is used through informal or shadow schemes, which further complicates access for new or smaller players. The situation is compounded by institutional weakness at the local level. Communities have been granted more authority in land management, but they do not always have sufficient resources, experience, and personnel to make transparent and fair decisions,” notes Oleksandra Romanova.
Combined with the consequences of a full-scale war, this, according to the expert, creates additional risks for the sustainable development of agriculture.
Access is limited
In August–November 2025, the research group “Doka Center,” commissioned by the NGO “Ekodia,” conducted a sociological study examining small farmers’ access to land amid land concentration.
As it turned out, about 70% of the farmers surveyed who attempted to expand their farms were unsuccessful. Only 4% of respondents fully met their expansion needs.
At the same time, 30.5% of those surveyed did not attempt to expand at all. This may indicate not a lack of need, but low expectations of success in a highly competitive environment.
Oleksandra Romanova, an expert in the agriculture department at Ekodia and coordinator of the Land Matrix project in Eastern Europe, discusses other survey results.
“Most often, farmers face economic barriers: high land prices, rising rent, and a lack of their own financial resources. Fierce competition with agricultural holdings also plays a major role. An additional problem is the mistrust of shareholders and the risk of land being ‘poached’ by larger tenants. Farmers also mention administrative and institutional difficulties: complex procedures, a lack of local resources, and, in some cases, local authorities lobbying on behalf of large companies,” the expert notes.
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As the study emphasizes, “in a market where decisions on land transfers often have an administrative component, formal and informal support for large players creates a situation in which small farmers are effectively left with no chance.”
One example is the exercise by local farmers of the right, provided for in the Land Code, to purchase a land plot under permanent use at the standard monetary valuation and without holding a land auction. Viktor Goncharenko, president of the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine, explains what is happening.
“The law allows for the purchase of such a land plot. And where the community and its leader are not subordinate to some holding company or large farm—that is, are not puppets—the issue is resolved without problems, and the farmer even gets the opportunity, say, to purchase the land plot in installments—up to 10 years. Because not every farmer can buy such a plot of land in a single year. But there are other communities where various ‘local bosses’ are in charge, who have their own interests, and the farmer cannot buy the land, even though the law allows it. “Deputies don’t vote because the community head ordered them not to, and his superior told him to do so. Although this is a violation and constitutes outright corruption. I think this is exactly what law enforcement agencies should focus on to rectify the situation,” the expert notes.
Furthermore, according to him, farmers are currently concerned about the law on multiple citizenship, which, as agrarians believe, could grant foreigners with Ukrainian citizenship access to the agricultural land market, continues Viktor Goncharenko:
“Today, farmers are concerned about the law on multiple citizenship, under which, through a simplified system, a foreigner can quickly obtain Ukrainian citizenship and, as a full-fledged citizen of Ukraine, exercise their rights in the land market. Although Article 22 of the Land Code directly prohibits foreign citizens from purchasing land. In my opinion, this is one of the gray schemes through which foreigners can take control of land resources. And this should concern not only farmers but the entire Ukrainian people, because land is not the property of peasants; it is the property of the entire Ukrainian people,” notes the head of the Association of Farmers and Landowners.
In conclusion, one can cite another observation regarding the situation of farmers in Ukraine. It was voiced in a comment to the publication
“A vicious cycle is forming: land and rent prices are rising, access to land is narrowing, and the market is effectively encouraging the consolidation of land use, pushing small farmers to the sidelines of economic development.”
And this is despite the fact that, according to her, farmers generally live and work in their communities: they leave their income there, build local businesses, support social infrastructure, and often treat the land more responsibly, as they depend on it in the long term. Therefore, farmers’ access to land is not only an agricultural issue but also the foundation of food security, social stability, and sustainable development for Ukrainian communities.
