The Cabinet of Ministers has increased the amount of compensation for agribusinesses planning to demine agricultural land from 80% to 100%. The program will also now be open to farmers who have a tax debt for land or a single tax debt if they are Group IV single tax payers. And the bidding for the procurement of agricultural land demining services should take place exclusively at auctions in the Prozorro system with the participation of at least two bidders. The corresponding amendments to the Resolution No. 284, developed by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, were approved at a Government session on August 23, 2024. 

“We are fully covering the cost of humanitarian demining of agricultural land for those agricultural producers who are only planning to clear their land. I understand that working under shelling and complicated logistics, it is difficult to find additional funds to bring back into use several hundred hectares of land that is currently lying idle and mined. That is why the government is paying for such services so that the farmers who will participate in the program will be able to sow and harvest crops on the cleared areas next season,” said Yulia Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine. 

The resolution comes into force on the day of its publication. This will allow the Humanitarian Demining Center to announce the first tenders for the purchase of humanitarian demining services for those farmers who have applied and meet the program's conditions in the Prozorro system in the near future. As of now, farmers have submitted a total of 135 applications for demining 3,897 sites with a total area of over 17,252 hectares. 

“By adopting a resolution to increase the cost of compensation to 100%, we have created all the conditions for farmers to start demining those areas that are not currently being cultivated, as they may contain mines or other explosive devices. The budget allocates UAH 3 billion for the compensation program, and we have already registered 51 mine action operators. This means that we have people to work with and funds to pay for this work. Moreover, by amending Resolution 76, we have enabled international operators to reserve groups that work in the fields directly on demining from mobilization. We are doing everything to ensure that our capacity and effectiveness in mine action increases,” said Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Ihor Bezkaravaynyi. 

The compensation program is open to farmers whose land is located in the de-occupied territories, where contamination or possible contamination with explosive ordnance has been confirmed after a non-technical survey. The designated areas must be located outside the 20-kilometer zone from the line of military contact or the state border.

The verification of applications submitted by farmers through the State Agrarian Register is carried out by the Humanitarian Demining Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center). It also announces auctions for demining services in the ProZorro system, and after determining the winning operator and the final cost of demining, transfers 100% of the amount to a special account opened by the farmer in one of the state-owned banks participating in the program.

The mine action operator will receive the entire reserved amount upon completion of demining and confirmation of the work performed by the Center.

It is worth mentioning that the issue of humanitarian demining is overseen by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine ensures the interaction of central executive authorities in the mine action field, particularly in the area of humanitarian demining.