Ukraine crisis seen softening political ground for foreign farm land sales

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The crisis in Ukraine looks set to trigger major changes in its vast agricultural sector with state-owned farm land and small family plots likely to go up for sale despite concerns over the impact on local farmers, according to development experts.

Ukraine, known as Europe's bread basket, has the eighth largest agricultural area in use globally and is the world's third largest exporter of corn and sixth largest grain grower, potentially making it a prime target for foreign investment.