In a historical retrospective view the features of informal institutes’ influence on the development of rural areas of Ukraine are outlined. Comparison of rural residents’ ability to close the ranks during the October Revolution and in Soviet times is conducted. The changes of informal institutions’ impact on rural development at different times over 100 years are researched. The fact that the policy of collectivization was the policy of moral distortion and substitution of concepts and norms of behavior of rural society is proved. It is shown that the destructive impact of these policies on the social and economic activity of the villagers explaines some problems of rural cooperation, in particular the belief that social and personal services must be granted to the peasants at cheaper price than to citizens. Destructive moods in rural society expressed in the confidence in the injustice of profits allocation in Ukraine are revealed. It is shown that possession of land plots by rural residents is a base for the development of rural cooperation, however the vagueness of future land market comes forward as a inhibitory factor. Specific attitude towards understanding of a theft as a crime is researched. It is determined that informal institutions are important for the development of cooperatives at rural areas. The fact that rural territory is optimally developing only if there are available industrial or processing enterprises thereon is proved. It is explained that the combined employment of villagers, when they go to work in the city and agriculture remains a permanent alternative type of employment for them, has a positive effect on the development of rural areas. Core group of potential cooperators, which the informatively-educative activity of the authorized institutes that promote co-operation should be directed at, is allocated by exception. This group includes the members of rural communities that do not have permanent employment and do not rent the landplots. Fair competition, prestige of employment in the field, stability and confidence in the future are determined as the main informal factors of cooperation development at rural territories. It is shown that providing of rural residents with sufficiently high level of social infrastructure will contribute to forming of a sense of stability and confidence in the future, particularly it concerns the development of the transport sector and opportunities to obtain qualitative school education. The facts that informal institutes of Ukraine have become the hostages of formal ones because the latter create an environment in which rural cooperatives should develop and that formal institutions today are able and obliged to ensure the development of informal institutions are proved. 

cooperation, rural areas, competitiveness, informal institutions, formal institutions 

The article shows the causes of emergence and the ways of establishment of organic agriculture concept. The reasons of temporary lack of attention on the part of certain governments over this range of problems are outlined. The article explains why the situation over maintenance of food security in the USA after the Warld War II was much better than in the countries of Europe and the USSR. Long-term absence of control over the ecological quality of food in the USSR is emphasized. This approach was to a certain extent changed after the accident at Chornobylska NPP in 1986, but had remained unsatisfactory in all countries of the former Soviet Union until the moment of its collapse. The causes of agricultural goods overproduction in the European Union are revealed and the steps towards solution of the problem taken by the Community government are analyzed. Latest tendencies of agriculture conducting are examined and their major types in the Western and Eastern countries are outlined. Evaluation of potential capacity of world organic agriculture over providing of world population with food products from the points of view of leading scientists and expert international organizations are shown. Approaches to understanding the ecological agriculture of scientists in the world are generalized. The influence of permaculture on forming of organic agriculture concept is explained. The fact that permaculture is the antipode of urbanization and its provisions are not always correct is proved. The nature of roof farms is characterized; their characteristics and major arguments of their apologists are analyzed. The following are among them: energy saving due to reducing of expenses on cooling, reduction of СО2 emission, unloading of runoff water system, availability of healthy food. The fact that rental ability of growing the organic products in such buildings is unlikely and quality and safety of the roof farms products does not correspond to sanitary and hygienic standards and contradicts the UNO basic principles is proved. Emergence of locavore movement and establishment of its definitions is examined. Advantages of locavorism are shown and its usefulness for strengthening of human health and territorial development is proved. The perspectives of creation of small local farmers markets and their importance for the development and forming of rural territories’ competitive advantages are emphasized. The need to support locavore movement in Ukraine as one of major chances for domestic agricultural producer and guarantee of nation’s health is stressed. Strengthening of the tendencies to establish direct contacts between municipal consumers and rural producers will enable small producers to realize their production at fair prices and will solve the range of problems of rural territories. Export-import tendencies of Ukrainian agricultural production are defined to be the perspective of further research.Рубрика: Розвиток сільських територій 

rural territories, competitive advantages, organic products, roof farm, locavore 

The article deals with criterias of food security. Comparative dynamics of the number of people in terms of food supply by the versions of the Gallup Institute and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is proved that food security indicators that are drawn from the self-estimations of residents of different countries cannot be considered to be objective since they depend on people’s living standards. Categories of problems of the population food supply in the State are classified: natural and political. It is shown how these problems transform one into another and shift from the level of a state to the global level due to emerging/deepening of the internal conflict and increase in the number of refugees who are bringing destructive elements in the social structure of other states (the threat of terrorist attacks, riots, etc.). For the State in which the problem originates, this situation means the decline in the rural areas development and agricultural production (several years needed to restore the losses). While in the conditions of hot climates, even relatively short time termination in the processing of irrigated lands, leads to their rapid degradation and reduction of agricultural lands, and the recovery of these lands would be impossible without assistance. Based on the comparison of Japan and Cameroon – the two states with different amounts of natural resources, – it is proved that food security strongly depends on government policy in this area and is bound up with rural development policy. It is shown that Cameroon, having the conditions for complete food self-sufficiency, spends on food imports a fifth part of the entire expenditures on commodity imports. The article studies the ways to address the problem of food security in Japan, the main of which are the intensification of agricultural production, creation of favorable living conditions in the rural areas, active implementation of science and technology, widespread use of innovations. Methods and tools of rural development used in Japan are identified: attracting young people to live and work in rural areas and diversification of economic activities, promotion of new concepts of life, including combining farming with other activities. Based on comparison of the state policy of food security in Cameroon and Japan, the paper shows that funding of agriculture by national governments and international organizations without the development and implementation of real long-term plans makes all efforts ineffective. It is shown that adopted by the world and international organizations and programs documents indicate that food security is often seen solely in terms of promoting agricultural development, and the importance of rural development is generally ignored. 

food security, globalization, rural areas, agriculture 

The article on the example of Poland shows the process of preparing rural areas of the candidate country for accession to the European Union. Priorities that have become major when developing programs and actions, initiated by the EU for leveling disproportions in development of rural areas of Poland are highlighted, and the reasons for changing these priorities are revealed. Dynamics of funding programs of the Polish countryside is showed. The analysis of the EU and Poland programs, which aimed for sustainable rural development, is given. Institutional support for preparation of Poland’s rural areas to functioning in the European Union is researched. The comparative analysis of rural Poland at the beginning of the implementation of development programs of the EU with rural areas in the EU member states helped to identify positive and negative aspects. The necessity of further studies of rural development of the post-Soviet countries, which are members of the EU, is emphasised. The concept of “sustainable rural development” has long gone beyond agriculture, although it remains mainly critical but increasingly gives way to other alternative economic activities. For Poland during preparation for accession the availability of environmentally friendly agricultural production was a factor of great importance, which exceeded the quantitative characteristics, existing in most EU countries. This was a source of not only increasing the competitiveness of rural areas, but also the state economy as a whole. All the countries, which joined the European Union in 2004, during preparation for integration in a sense, were in a better situation compared with the states - EU old-timers, because there have already been elaborated the necessary mechanisms and tools, and the necessary funds accumulated to implement the plans. By funding support for sustainable rural development of the candidate countries, EU institutions pursuing several goals, foremost of which is the major disparity leveling, bringing the quality of agricultural products to the standards adopted in the Community that not only improves food security, but also the newly accessed countries’ competitiveness in the world market and provides the standard of living of the rural population, which is characteristic of the other EU countries, which in turn prevents the massive migration processes that could undermine the employment situation in the former EU-15. 

rural areas, sustainable development, European integration, European Union, Poland 

The article considers the dependence of competitiveness of rural territories of Ukraine on their innovation capabilities. The basic directions of increase of competitiveness of rural Ukraine are shown. Under the urbanization of rural areas one should understand their transition to a qualitatively new format of life, which involves aligning opportunity of peasants and townspeople while preserving differences in the nature of the work. Was emphasized that in the present context the key to of this is the availability of an innovative component of the area. Benefits for of rural territories, that are provided by scientific and technical progress are highlighted. It is proved that science and technology are the cause of reducing the number of persons employed in agriculture, and hence the rural population. Decrease in rural population does not mean the stagnation of rural areas. It is shown that without proper economic factors of social organization innovative development are ineffective. Was determined that the competitiveness of rural territories of is formed only in a harmonious combination of scientific, technological, institutional and human aspects. In today’s environment of limited financial resources that could potentially be used for the development of rural territories Ukraine, is problematic to carry out innovations by introducing new technologies and procurement the latest technology, the acquisition of elite seed material, and so it makes sense to give primary priority to areas that are insufficiently developed whose economic activities are related to rural areas that do not require large investments. For this purpose analysis of reserves of innovativeness of rural territories of Ukraine are made and determined that the most popular among them, due to global demand, is the production of organic agricultural products and rural tourism. Global trend of comparison of the performance with environmental component of agricultural production is noted. It is proved that by national standards, organic production can not be attributed to innovation. Using Oslo Manual expirience factors that belong to the goals and outcomes of innovation for the production of organic products are allocated. Achievements of national science, aimed at creation of new plant varieties and animal breeds are shown. Weak link between research institutions and farmers is underlined. Is emphasized on the need for state-level continuous monitoring of innovation in rural areas around the world and creation of conditions for their implementation in Ukraine. 

rural development, innovation, competitiveness, socio-economic development, Oslo Manual 

Historic facts which testify to accidents as a result of technogenic activity are given. The reasons of adoption of administrative decisions in this direction which result there was an irreparable harm to rural territories are analysed. The parallel between the historical past and the present is drawn, is established that the aspiration to get the maximum profit can make impossible the future of development of rural territories of Ukraine. Need of strengthening of the state control of use of lands of agricultural purpose is noted especially by foreign tenants. 

rural territories, social and economic development, technogenic activity, historical lessons 

Analyzed advanced domestic and foreign scholars arguments about the potential benefits and risks for the domestic food sector at the prospect of signing by the Ukraine Association Agreement and formation of free trade zone with the EU. The influence of activation of Ukraine’s European integration on the formation of relations with the Russian Federation and other countries of the Customs Union in the agri-food sector. 

agricultural production, free trade zone, European Union, Association Agreement, Russian Federation 

The features of development the agro-industrial complexes of Brazil and Argentina in terms of the predictable by scientists threat of «Latin-American» path of development of Ukraine are considered. A comparison of the GDP structure and labor allocation in these countries is conducted. The evolution of the reform on agricultural sector in Brazil and Argentina and the actions of the national governments of these countries in times of crisis are researched. The main threats to the rural territories and to the country at whole in case of the lack of government control of the rural territories development and land resources usage are outlined. 

rural territories, genetically modified organisms, land resources, economic development, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine 

Features of formation of housing policy in Ukraine are shown. Influence of housing stock on attractiveness of dwelling place on the defined territory as one of the aspects of regional competitiveness is researched. Possibility of participation in the program of the reducing price mortgage for low-paid categories of the population is analyzed. Offers proposals concerning analog of mortgage lending for rural population are developed. Necessity of researching other aspects making the region attractive for accommodation is emphasized. 

housing problem, communal apartment, region, competitiveness 

The current social infrastructure of rural territories of Carpathian region is presented. Tendencies concerning the network of different spheres of social infrastructure of the rural settlements are analyzed; respective conclusions and prospects of further functioning are drawn. Decline of social infrastructure in Carpathian villages is defined as threat of competitiveness for the whole region. The development of ecological tourism as a way of rural areas’ competitiveness improvement is suggested for further research. 

social infrastructure, rural territories, Carpathian region, competitiveness