Agroecological Bases of Sustainable Development Strategy for the Rural United Territorial Communities of the Western Polissya Region

Abstract

The article considers the influence of agroecological indicators on the sustainable development of the rural united territorial communities of the Western Polissya region (Ukraine) based on the current state analysis of crop production. To study the state of crop production and determine its role in the development of rural areas of the Western Polissya region, the authors used their field research, as well as data from the Main Departments of Statistics in Rivne and Volyn regions, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, statistical collection “Crop Production of Ukraine” (2018). The following methods were applied throughout the research process: system analysis, comparison, graphical and statistical methods. The development of crop production was assessed taking into account the dynamics of the following indicators: sown areas of crops (thousand hectares), production volume (gross harvest) of crops (thousand centners), crop yields (thousand hectares-1), sown areas of crops in enterprises and households on the territory of the Western Polissya region in terms of Rivne and Volyn regions for the period from 1995 to 2019. During the study period, changes in the ratio of areas between different crops were discovered: a decrease in the sown area of sugar beet, fruit and berry crops, cereals and legumes, and an increase in sunflower, vegetable crops, etc. An increase in crop yields and a slight decrease in gross harvest were established only for sugar beet in the two regions and fruit and berry crops in the Volyn region. In the region, 51.6% of the sown area of crops is accounted for by households that supply the market with products included in the consumer basket of ordinary citizens: roots and tubers, vegetables, and melons. Enterprises are focused on growing profitable crops (technical, grain, and legumes) for export