INNOVATIONS IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY: SPECIFICS OF UKRAINE’S EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT VECTOR

Abstract

The article examines innovative pathways for the development of Ukraine’s agricultural sector in the context of European integration and the sustainable development of rural areas. It analyses the consequences of land reform, transformations in land use, the concentration of land resources, declining rural employment, and the limited access of land-share owners to finance, agricultural machinery, advisory services, logistics infrastructure, and organised markets. It has been established that the export-oriented raw-material specialisation of agricultural production, the dominance of lease-based land use, and the insufficient development of processing industries do not fully ensure social inclusion, adequate household incomes, or the balanced use of natural resources. International experience with block farming is summarised as an organisational and economic model that combines economies of scale with the participation of small-scale producers, technological support, contractual relations, and guaranteed product marketing. The feasibility of establishing innovative agricultural production and logistics blocks in Ukraine is substantiated on the basis of the voluntary consolidation of land plots without terminating private ownership rights. The proposed model provides for the shared use of machinery, precision agriculture, digital monitoring, advisory support, and the development of storage, post-harvest handling, processing, and logistics facilities. Its implementation will contribute to increasing the incomes of land-share owners, creating employment opportunities, developing family farming, producing higher value-added products, and aligning Ukraine’s agricultural sector more closely with European principles of sustainable, innovative, and inclusive development.