Agricultural support cannot be reduced to achieving KPIs – UNBA Committee

Replacing state agricultural policy with an orientation toward indicators ignores the real needs of agriculture in wartime.

This warning was issued by the Committee of the Ukrainian National Bar Association on agrarian, land and environmental law following its analysis of draft law No. 13202-1 of 07.05.2025 «On amendments to certain laws of Ukraine regarding the organizational principles of support in the agricultural sector».

The draft law proposes to create a new institutional architecture for the state support system in the agricultural sector, focused on the requirements of EU legislation and the implementation of the relevant regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and 2021/2116. The main changes include: the establishment of a Paying Agency — a separate body for the administration and monitoring of funding; the introduction of an Integrated administration and control system (IACS) for the management of all types of support; the creation of an Agricultural data system (ADS) for the collection and analysis of information on the sustainable development of farms.

In addition, the draft law introduces a multi-level verification system (automated, documentary, physical), as well as liability for violations of the conditions for receiving support, including the obligation to return funds and a temporary ban on re-participation in programs. Amendments to a number of laws are envisaged to harmonize terminology, launch the ISAC on January 1, 2027, and enable the new system to be financed from the budget, international assistance, and other sources.

The UNBA Committee noted that such a model of approach to reforming state support effectively replaces the real goal of agricultural policy with the achievement of formal indicators in line with EU regulations. The legal opinion draws attention to the Goodhart principle: when a social or economic indicator (KPI) becomes the goal of social or economic policy, it ceases to be a reliable indicator. As a result, the proposed risk control and administration system risks becoming a self-sufficient construct, detached from the needs of farmers working in conditions of martial law, destruction of production facilities, labor shortages, and rising logistics costs.

Advocates emphasized that the explanatory note lacks justification as to how exactly the new institutions — the Paying agency, ISAC, SSD — are capable of improving the situation in the agricultural market here and now. Apart from a declarative reference to European standards, the draft law does not contain an assessment of economic feasibility, is not accompanied by published financial and economic calculations, and has not undergone public expert discussion. In the Committee's opinion, this may indicate the lobbying nature of the initiative, which is primarily aimed at large domestic and foreign agri-trade and the financial and credit institutions that will serve it.

The full legal opinion of the UNBA Committee on agrarian, land and environmental law on draft law No. 13202-1 can be found at link.