How much access do farmers have to agricultural land in Ukraine? A community-level analysis
Land concentration and its impact on small farmers
Land concentration is not a new problem; it has long been recognised at the global level as a source of economic, social, and environmental risks for rural development – and it does not only occur in developing countries: land grabbing processes are observed in different regions of the world, regardless of the level of economic development or democracy. The growing interest of academic institutions and public organisations in the issue of land concentration and land grabbing became particularly noticeable in the second half of the 2000s. This was associated with an increase in large-scale land investments against the backdrop of the global food and financial crises, when countries, companies, and investors began to actively buy and lease land, considering it a strategic and reliable resource.
The term “land grabbing” can be defined as control over significant areas of land by individuals or legal entities (state or private, foreign, or domestic), exercised with the aim of expanding the use of and control over resources or commercialising production, often to the detriment of the environment, balanced land use, food security, and human rights. In addition, land grabbing is often closely linked to land concentration, which refers to the increasing accumulation of land in the hands of a limited number of owners or users.
In Ukraine, the problem of land concentration was previously mainly analysed at the national or regional levels, taking into account the assessment of the land bank of individual companies or groups of companies. The issue of land concentration at the community level and its impact on small farmers’ access to land remains insufficiently studied, although it is precisely this level that allows for a better understanding of the real socio-economic consequences – particularly in view of the specific structure of agricultural producers that has formed in the country, that is, from farmers (up to 100 hectares of land) to agricultural holdings (100,000 hectares and more).
Smallholder farmers are among the most vulnerable groups affected by land concentration. They provide employment in rural areas and support food security within communities and the local economy. At the same time, access to land is becoming increasingly difficult for them due to heightened competition from large-scale agricultural businesses, rising rents, and the risk of land transfer to large tenants. The issue of smallholder farmers’ capacity has been further exacerbated by the onset of full-scale encroachment and the subsequent opening of the land market to legal entities.
Research objective and scope
The Centre for Environmental Initiatives Ecoaction, a civil society organisation based in Ukraine, undertook research to both identify the level of concentration of agricultural land within communities and examine the results of a sociological survey of farmers in the different regions of Ukraine to assess the implications of this land concentration on community development. Importantly, this analysis also sought to understand farmers’ interactions with agricultural holdings, the obstacles they face in expanding their own land banks, and their sense of fairness in the land market, including their expectations regarding state policy, support, and regulation of it.
This study presents maps of agricultural land concentration at the community level within three regions in Ukraine – Kyiv, Sumy, and Vinnytsia – in order to identify differences and trends using data collected in cooperation with “Vkursi Zemli”, a portal for accessing land parcel analytics. While the maps present information for 2022-2024, and thus the data may differ slightly at present, since the land market is already largely established, significant changes in land distribution are not expected and therefore certain trends can still be identified with a high degree of certainty.
In addition, to explore farmers’ attitudes towards land concentration, a sociological survey was conducted in August-November 2025 as part of this study. The survey consisted of a quantitative online component, which collected data from 627 respondents across all regions of Ukraine, as well as a qualitative component, which included 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews with farmers.
The results of the survey allow for a comprehensive assessment of barriers to accessing land and farm development, the role of agricultural holdings in communities, and farmers’ views on possible solutions to improve the situation.
Overall, the data demonstrates the presence of systemic inequality in access to land resources, exacerbated by competition with agricultural holdings and institutional weakness of state and local structures, and further intensified by the impact of the war.
To read the findings of the study in full as well as recommendations for addressing these issues, download the report here.