Does Ukraine Have the Chance of Becoming Rich? 

Ihor KIRYUSHYN, People's Deputy and member of the Green Faction:

"Our country has invaluable riches - fertile land which cannot be matched in any other part of the world. If it worked, we wouldn't be afraid of any financial crises. But look at how it is being used. Most land owners are facing a desperate situation. The agricultural sector is not receiving any investment. And I think there is only one reason for that: land has not yet become a commodity. All the things that have been done in this country, from leasing to sharing land, are temporary solutions that will not solve the problem. What I am about to say is not new, but it is no less true: land should be a commodity, it should be bought and sold, it should have a high price and it should be mortgageable for credit. And it is also clear that we should legally protect our national heritage from being wasted, such as providing reasonable limits on land purchases by foreigners and other protective measures. Then our land will begin to work and make Ukraine one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

Even now any [former] collective farm, any collective agricultural enterprise is ready to give itself over to anyone who will pay wages, supply fuel and seed, etc. And what will change if we legalize the sale of land? It will receive a true master and feed the nation without begging for subsidies, which it now does."