Verkhovna Rada approved the State Agrarian Registry bill in the first reading

On September 4, 2020, the majority of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (271 votes) approved draft Law No. 3295 “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On State Support of Agriculture of Ukraine” and other laws of Ukraine concerning the operation of the State Agrarian Registry and improving the state support for agricultural producers” as the basis in the first reading.

This document should make it easier for agricultural producers to obtain state support by eliminating existing administrative barriers and costs. In particular, the draft law defines the essential principles of the Registry operation, such as prevention of duplicated information and its interoperability with other registers, cadastres and information systems, as well as openness, security, reliability, relevance, and completeness of information, which guarantees its reliability for users and registered farmers.

Fair financial eligibility criteria for receiving state support per each type of support which may not exceed UAH 50 million per year for one agri-producer including related persons are established. In order to obtain state support, it is necessary to notify the central executive body responsible for shaping state agrarian policy of all the related persons who have been recipients of state support during the year.

Some provisions regulating state agrarian intervention as a form of state intervention and the right to receive a budgeted livestock subsidy by entities engaged in goat and aquaculture production and state support for producers of fruits, berries, grapes, hops and aquaculture have been removed.

In general, the adoption of the bill will greenlight the fully-operational work of the State Agrarian Registry – the public information system for Ukrainian farmers, regardless of their size and form of business management, which will help producers to obtain access to state support and public services online.

Registration in the Registry will open opportunities for agricultural producers to apply online for participation in state and regional programs of state support to agriculture, which will allow the Government to more efficiently plan and streamline support programs for agricultural producers.

Registration and use of the State Agrarian Registry are free of charge.

For information: State Agrarian Registry is an electronic platform that will promote the creation of a transparent system of state support for farmers, make the interaction between the state and the agricultural producers simple, accessible, convenient, and traceable. With the help of the Agrarian Registry, it is planned to provide public services, simplify access to bank finance and credit guarantee programs, and implement targeted state support programs and evaluate their effectiveness.

The verification of the agricultural producer in the State Agrarian Registry is provided through the BankID or Qualified Electronic Signature (QES). If no QES is available, a person can do it oneself or an operator will help do it during registration (one will need a PrivatBank account and a flash drive for this). To register using the BankID, a person needs to have a card of one of the banks connected to the NBU BankID system.

To register in the State Agrarian Registry, please visit the web-site: www.ar.gov.ua.