(Republicaninformer.com)- According to a recent report by the Oakland Institute, a significant portion of farmland in Ukraine is owned by subsidiaries of the US-based firms TNA Corporate Solutions and NCH Capital.
The report found that TNA Corporate Solutions owns 295,624 hectares of land through subsidiaries including Hetmanske, Podillya Agroproduct, Pivden Argro Invest, and Prydniprovske, making it Ukraine’s fourth largest private landowner.
TNA Corporate Solutions was formed in Wyoming in 2017 and is run by American businessman Nicholas Piazza.
Meanwhile, NCH Capital, through AgroProperis, owns 290,749 hectares of Ukrainian land, making it Ukraine’s fifth-largest private landowner, according to the report. AgroProsperis funds agricultural projects through Western capital.
NCH Capital is a $3 billion New York-based private equity firm whose prominent investors include large corporations, foundations, college endowments, and pension funds.
The Oakland Institute’s report, titled “War and Theft: The Takeover of Ukraine’s Agricultural Land,” estimates that private own 9 million hectares, or 28 percent, of all of Ukraine’s arable land, with more than 4 million hectares controlled by large agricultural firms and another 5 million “stolen” by “private interests.” The majority of Ukraine’s farmland is owned by Ukrainian farmers.
In a press release last Tuesday announcing the report, Oakland Institute policy director Frédéric Mousseau described the “takeover” of farmland as a “lose-lose situation” for the Ukrainian people.
According to the press release, while Western financial institutions are helping foreign interests gain control of farmland in Ukraine, the Ukrainian farmers, who ensure the country’s food supply, receive no support.
Mousseau asserted that as Ukrainians are dying to defend their country, “oligarchs and Western financial interests” are consolidating farmland through the support of financial institutions. He called on Western governments and institutions to “listen to the calls” of Ukrainian farmers and “academics” and “prioritize an agricultural model” that isn’t “dominated” by corruption.
