UDC 338.439:[332.122:338.43]
Tsymbalista, N. A. (2015). Problemy realizatsiyi ahrovyrobnychoho potentsialu sil's'kykh terytoriy [The problems of unleashing the agri-industrial potential of rural areas]. Rehional'na ekonomika - Regional Economy, 76(2), 115-123. [in Ukrainian].
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Authors

Resume

The article deals with modern trends in the agricultural sector of Ukraine in terms of efficiency of unleashing the agri-industrial potential of rural areas. Methods of assessing the economic potential of the region by comparing the volume of production in times of recession and recovery are used to determine the level of agro-industrial potential realization. The paper proves that the potential is not a static value, and changes dynamically over time depending on its playback, effectiveness and expediency of use. The study found a number of interrelated problems in agriculture of Ukraine. The first issue concerns with the long practice of unsustainable use of soils: systematic violations of agri-environmental regulations on the use of fertilizers and crop protection, non-optimal crop rotation, insufficient funding and implementation of measures to protect soil. Material and technical support of agricultural production is unsatisfactory and rate of the production facilities depreciation is high. The level of wages in agriculture is one of the lowest in the economy, while 35% of the rural population, employed at the place of residence, is working at agricultural enterprises. This contributes to the unfavorable demographic situation in rural areas: rural population is constantly aging and declining; 9-14 or even more units reduce the number of villages annually; living standards in rural areas are sufficiently lower as compared with cites; rural youth massively migrate from villages. At the same time, rural households produce up to 90% (and in some cases up to 99%) of certain agricultural products such as potatoes, vegetables, fruits and berries, milk and beef. The article also states that the rapid expansion of the vertically integrated corporate structures, called agricultural holdings, causes aggravation of existing problems in the agricultural sector. They mainly focus on producing economically attractive agricultural products (mainly crop production), resulting in aggressive land use. Agricultural holdings also reduce the number of employees by using modern high-tech equipment and thereby increasing the unemployment rate of the rural population. Finally, these companies are usually registered in cities and do not pay taxes to local budgets therefore they do not contribute to local social infrastructure development.

Keywords:

potential of agricultural production, rural areas, development of the agricultural sector in economy