These are components to operate successfully in the field of land lease and tillage.
NIBULON has been actively leasing and cultivating the land from the mid-‘90s till the Order of the President of Ukraine, providing for obligatory signing of agreements between land users and landowners (December 1999). The company established its first production branches in Mykolayiv, Lugansk and Kharkiv regions. It was both agrarian production and a kind of laboratory where a system of principally new land relations was tested. The growth of leased land testifies that NIBULON efficiently cooperates with landowners.
In 1999, the landowners realized that NIBULON was the best partner to sign agreements with”, tells Nadiya Bodnar, a head of NIBULON’s lease relations department. “From the very beginning we followed the principles of judicial blamelessness and social responsibility. At the initial stage the company cultivated 34-38 thousand ha of land leased. Due to its new production branches (at present NIBULON has 43 ones in 12 regions), agricultural areas have been increased with each year. Now NIBULON’s land bank comprises 82,400 hectares. In 2008, we signed 14 thousand land lease agreements, and today we have almost 25 thousand ones. Within four years, from 2009 till 2012, the company expanded lease volumes by 15,923 hectares, demonstrating growth at any period. In order to survive in a competitive climate, we must prove everything, by providing arguments. Our company succeeds.
Lease payment is one of such NIBULON’s arguments.
It is impossible to live in the economic environment without responding to the processes appearing there. NIBULON not only realizes it but also constantly monitors the lease relations sector. For example, if a new investor proposes a specific payment to landlords, NIBULON’s proposition is worthy of acceptance.
Since the mid-‘20s, the employees of lease relations department have been performing additional duties. They started to repay and form property certificates of the former collective agricultural enterprises. When NIBULON constructed a network of elevator complexes and river terminals (more than twenty facilities for several years; the total area occupied by these facilities, except Mykolayiv terminal, comprises 215 hectares), it gained experience and practiced efficient methods to work in the land relations sector. Due to the complicated situations connected with land allocation issues, the company improved its professionalism.
NIBULON’s achievements in the implementation of its investment program to revive Ukrainian rivers have already become a heritage for the whole of the country. Agrarians from many regions became aware of the real grain logistics in the European country. At the same time the legislative field has a lot of artificial obstacles preventing agrarian sector from developing. NIBULON as well as its lease relations department are not passive participants. They search for ways to solve problems instead of just stating them.
“At present it is difficult to obtain a permit to use land of state property”, says Nadiya Bodnar. “Auctions are not a problem; the trouble is that the country is lack of money to hold them. Secondly, the bodies of the State Agency for Land Resources of Ukraine allotting the land are not really interested in this process. We think that it is necessary to make amendments to the Land Code of Ukraine and to authorize district state administrations to allot the land. They used to do it more efficiently.
NIBULON’s specialists have constructive proposals to solve other land use problems.
For example, it is necessary to cancel normative and legal statements specifying that land management projects must contain environmental and economic validation of crop rotation and land regulation. It is a complicated procedure often performed by unskilled specialists who do not take into consideration a lot of modern factors. As a result, agricultural producers lose their money.  It is necessary to determine the legal status of field roads so that those who cultivate the land may lease them legally. The information on land right registered up to 2013 should be automatically transferred to the State Agency for Land Resources of Ukraine. The main problem is the impossibility of a land resource manager as well as the State Agency for Land Resources of Ukraine to operate efficiently. The local authorities will cope with it efficiently. And village councils should register lease agreements. The State Register Offices cannot cope with the large number of documents at present. For example, about 600 NIBULON’s agreements are waiting for their turn within four months. The validity term of 40 % of agreements will terminate in 2017-2018.
However, NIBULON not only proposes but also acts. The Law on Regulation of City Planning when Allocating Land for Construction provides for the reduction of endorsements, and, on the other hand, the appropriateness of land allotments must be based on city planning documentation. All the documentation is outdated. It is necessary to develop new and modern one. This process requires much money, but the country faces difficult economic situation. NIBULON constructs facilities at its own expense; the company develops general layouts and changes the existing ones. NIBULON uses its own principles here: in order to obtain a result, one must act.
NIBULON has its own principles when cooperating with those who entrusted Oleksiy Vadaturskyy with their land.
Certainly, the company could pay for land shares and forget about landlords… Investors often act in such a way. But NIBULON’s management does not accept this. Either the company cultivates the land around a settlement or constructs a facility, NIBULON signs a social agreement with a village or settlement council and implements social projects (Ukrainian villages have a lot of problems). The company allocates tens of millions of hryvnas to develop infrastructure and social projects. NIBULON cooperates with 114 village councils; the company cares about people from 139 settlements.
A landlord is in the center of such a civilized policy. More than 800 landlords work at NIBULON. The company always assists people in case of household issues (transport, fuel, and others). Real trust is earned by deeds.
“The company enjoys confidence; people trust Oleksiy Vadaturskyy”, assured Nadiya Bodnar. “Our results and our attitude to partners are NIBULON’s principle of work. Frankly speaking, a reliable company decided to lease land in one of the regions. They promised considerable payments, but people refused, because they have NIBULON. People say that stability and reliability in everything unite them with NIBULON. And it is true.
NIBULON sets itself new tasks, determines a higher level of economic development; thus, both its partners and landowners will gain from it.