Diversification of entrepreneurial activities in the agricultural sector of Ukraine’s economy in the post-war period

Abstract

In the context of modern development of agricultural producers, assessing the level of their activity efficiency and searching for an appropriate strategy for further development is essential. The aim of the article was to formulate a concept of sustainable development for agricultural producers based on identifying the most viable development strategy. The article’s methodological framework included the following methods of scientific inquiry: descriptive method, measurement and comparison methods, economic-mathematical modelling, induction, deduction, analysis and synthesis, system-structural analysis. The essence of diversification of activities in the agricultural sector was examined and revealed, defining their role in forming sustainable development. To achieve this, theoretical concepts of Ukrainian and foreign scholars, as well as the categories of “diversification” and “sustainable development,” were synthesized. Subsequently, an analysis and forecast of land use by agricultural enterprises were conducted. The dynamics of changes in the structure of cultivated areas from 1991 to 2021 were determined, as this period marked the implementation of agricultural reform aimed at finding effective agricultural product producers. Changes in the magnitude of costs for primary resources in farm enterprises of the Kyiv region on the eve of the war were defined, and the economic efficiency of cultivating major agricultural crops was analysed. Based on established data, a development strategy was modelled for an average farm in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine, considering the concept of diversification through the implementation and development of animal husbandry. Furthermore, directions for further development of agricultural entities were substantiated by deepening the diversification of activities through optimizing cultivated areas. The research outcomes could be considered in shaping the development strategy of entrepreneurial structures and evaluating their impact on sustainable development in the post-war period.