Problems of rural areas of Ukraine in the context of European integration processes

Abstract

Ukraine has favorable geographical, climatic, resource and other prerequisites for the development of rural areas, therefore it is potentially capable of becoming a state with priority development of the agricultural sector and one of the main suppliers to the world markets of ecologically safe food products. However, the problem of non-compliance of the level of development of the Ukrainian agricultural sector and rural areas with the world level and standards of the EU countries in general remains unresolved. The competitiveness of domestic agricultural products is achieved mainly due to cheap labor and ruthless exploitation of the land. The article analyzes the socio-economic and ecological state of rural areas of Ukraine and establishes that at the current stage rural areas are in a catastrophic state. The state of natural resources and the ecological situation are deteriorating, the engineering and social infrastructure, the system of social services (medicine, culture, preschool education) and the sphere of life are in decline, human potential is decreasing, unemployment and poverty are flourishing, which stimulates labor migration. The lack of work, medical care, social and infrastructure support does not encourage rural youth to actively give birth to children, as a result of which the rural population is aging at a very fast pace, there is no simple replacement of the population, mortality prevails over birth rate. The lifespan expectancy of the population in one or another country is precisely the indicator that characterizes well-being. In Ukraine, the average lifespan expectancy as of 2020 was 66.4 years for men and 76.2 years for women, which is an average 3.6–14.4 years for men and 1.3–9.3 years for women less compared to the countries of the European Union. During 32 years of independence, Ukraine, as a state, did nothing to improve the living conditions of the rural population, stop migration processes and the natural reduction of the population in general, and especially the rural population. As a result of such non-statistical attitude of the state of Ukraine towards rural areas, 435 rural settlements disappeared from the map of Ukraine during this period. The primary solution to the social and infrastructure problems of the rural population is one of the main conditions for Ukraine’s food security, its economic and social well-being, and therefore should become a priority direction for the state of Ukraine.