“The government has adopted a corresponding resolution approving the procedure for compensating expenses. Farmers will be able to enter into contracts with both public and private demining operators who win an open and transparent tender. In total, we have allocated 3 for the program for compensating expenses for humanitarian demining in the state budget for 2024 billion UAH,” noted Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko.
Compensation will be available to farmers in the Kyiv, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov, Donetsk, Kherson, Nikolaev and Dnepropetrovsk regions whose plots are contaminated and there is confirmation of a non-technical inspection.
Agricultural producers under sanctions with beneficiaries who are citizens of the aggressor country, as well as those in the process of bankruptcy/liquidation and those whose tax debt has not been repaid will not be able to receive compensation under this program.
In order for farmers to receive compensation for humanitarian demining, the farmer will have to submit an application to the State Agrarian Register (SAR), where an initial check will take place to determine whether the land really belongs to the farmer, whether it has passed a non-technical inspection and whether relevant contamination has been identified there. The Mine Action Center will also carry out an inspection within two weeks.
The procurement procedure for demining services must be carried out through Prozorro, indicating the expected cost. After choosing the winner of the tender, the farmer must contribute 20% of the amount determined during the bidding, the remaining 80% - the Ministry of Economy.
After clearing the site, the mine action operator must send documents to the Center for Humanitarian Demining for verification, and the bank will pay for the services.
“These are important steps to launch the market for humanitarian demining. After all, an open and transparent procedure due to tender procedures is an opportunity to reduce corruption risks. We have provided several additional safeguards. If a farmer provides false information, he will be forced to return the funds received,” the minister explained.
Tender procedures can reduce the cost of demining. As an example, she cited the results of the first pilot tender for demining a forest area, during which it was possible to save 100 thousand UAH.
The government's proposed demining mechanism will help increase the number of mine action operators, help increase the production of Ukrainian mine clearance equipment and strengthen the "Made in Ukraine" policy.
Speaking about the benefits of farmers, the proposed compensation mechanism for humanitarian demining will allow them to return the land to use, which will increase the economic potential of Ukraine and strengthen global food security.
“With a joint effort, we can return a safe land to people and give them the opportunity to live without fear of mines,” summed up the First Deputy Prime Minister.
