The programme has been launched to compensate farmers for the costs of humanitarian demining of agricultural land, in particular for farmers who had already demined their own plots. By the end of the year, the state budget provides 3 billion hryvnias for financing the programme.

“The programme has been launched, and we expect it to help return land contaminated by mines to economic use as soon as possible. The state will compensate farmers for 80% of the cost of land clearance, as well as pay compensation to those who have already cleared their land and started cultivating it. This is an important step towards creating a full-fledged market for demining services and establishing competitive, market-based prices from operators for clearing the territory of Ukraine. After all, demand will create supply, and, accordingly, we hope it will reduce the cost of the process and speed up the demining process,” Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine, noted.

The programme is open to farmers whose land has already been cleared of mines by certified mine action operators (CMAOs) between 24 February 2022 and 15 April 2024.

Such farmers may already fill out and submit an application for compensation to the Humanitarian Demining Centre at [email protected].

The application, which must be signed with an electronic digital signature, must be submitted with the following:

• a copy of the contract with a certified operator for demining services;
• copies of certificates of services rendered confirming demining;
• copies of payments confirming payment for demining services.

Mandatory conditions for participation in the programme:

• the land is located in the de-occupied territory outside the combat zone;
• the fact of contamination of the sites is confirmed by the Mine Action Centre based on the results of a non-technical survey by a certified CMAOs;
• the farmer is not under sanctions, the ultimate owner of the commodity producer is not a citizen of the aggressor state;
• the farmer has no tax debt, his/her company is not in liquidation or bankruptcy.

If all the necessary documents are submitted and the conditions are met, the Centre adds the farmer to the list of eligible farmers for compensation. The list is reviewed by the Commission for Consideration of Issues Related to Compensation of Expenses for Humanitarian Demining of Agricultural Land, which takes the final decision. The farmer will receive compensation for 80% of the amount spent on demining services if the actual price does not exceed the cost determined in accordance with the methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Economy. If the cost is higher, the Government will reimburse 80% of the cost calculated based on the methodological recommendations.

In addition, farmers who are only planning to start demining their farmland or work as tenants may apply for compensation. They can do so through the State Agrarian Register. After that, their applications are processed by the Humanitarian Demining Centre, which announces the relevant tenders in the Prozorro system. All interested certified mine action operators will have an opportunity to participate in these tenders, and they will determine the cost of demining at open bidding in the system.