With around 28% – about 56m ha – of Russian farmland not being used for its intended purpose, Russia’s Agriculture Ministry is considering handing out free five-year leases of state-owned land out to agricultural investors, according to unnamed sources quoted in Vedomosti last week. The Ministry has also suggested compensating investors for the cost of its development. 21.6m ha or nearly half of the vacant farmland is in Siberia, according to the Ministry’s own database.
Source: The Moscow Times