The Verkhovna Rada has extended the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land until January 1, 2019.

Some 236 people's deputies voted for relevant bill No. 7350 at a meeting on Thursday. According to the explanatory note to the bill, before the introduction of agricultural land in Ukraine, it is first necessary to develop and adopt a legislative base for the formation of a developed network of farms and agricultural cooperatives.

"The abolition of the moratorium in the conditions of martial law and the economic crisis ... without the legal regulation of the procedure for the turnover of agricultural land, is a threat to both national and food security of our state," the explanatory note of the bill says.

The authors of the document believe that the extension of the moratorium will remove the social tension that has arisen in the society amid political speculations on this issue and will provide some time for the development of a mechanism for introducing a transparent market of agricultural land.

As reported, the Verkhovna Rada in late October 2016 extended the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land, introduced in 2002, until 2018. Parliament also instructed its committees and the profile ministry to develop the necessary bills within six months.

The government planned to register a draft law on agricultural land turnover in the autumn of this year. To date, this bill has not been submitted to parliament. First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food said that the government would register a bill on land turnover, when the Verkhovna Rada supports it.