EFFICIENCY OF THE "NICHE" DIRECTION IN AGRICULTURE IN UKRAINE: THE STATE AND PROSPECTS

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EFFICIENCY OF THE "NICHE" DIRECTION IN AGRICULTURE IN UKRAINE: THE STATE AND PROSPECTS

Journal Title: Аграрна економіка - Year 2018, Vol 11, Issue 3

Abstract

The deepening of the dualization of the agrarian economy of Ukraine and the permanent polarization of large and small producers of agricultural products compel the latters in the search for opportunities for competition with the first, to intensify the development of so-called "niche" products, both in crop and livestock production. Such a direction of development of agriculture in the near future becomes the status of the main for small producers of agricultural products. The results of the calculations and the accumulated experience presented in this article indicate the existence of a very wide range of opportunities for diversification of agricultural production in small agricultural land, which in the best way suits the conditions of most small farms, and it is quite possible in the near future to become the preferred way of developing of these farms, as a competitive struggle with large farms in the field of traditional crops cultivating or in the production of traditional animal products by small farms in Ukraine because of objective reasons known certainly lose. However, the scale of niche agricultural production in Ukraine is currently relatively unusually small. The main reasons for this situation are the lack of necessary experience in the Ukrainian producers concerning the production and marketing techniques, the lack of cooperation in this area, the lack of adequate information and consulting services, the relatively low level of consumption culture of the products of a number of niche crops cultivation, the lack of necessary state support for this direct. Producers of niche agricultural products are mostly fragmented, separated geographically, act in most cases "at their own risk", do not have any information about the successes in such activities in more successful compatriots. In addition, practice also suggests that there are no grounds for the niche cultures absolute as a panacea for all problems of small-scale agricultural producers. The niche specificity of a number of agricultural crops has a rather temporal or even transient in nature – the crop that was a niche for some time, when attained a certain point in its development, may lose the niche features and become a category of traditional production, as it happened, for example, with big blueberries (lokhyna). Therefore, it is obvious that by staking on the niche of one or another production, one must take into account such a peculiarity of this niche, and when planning its investments, it is necessary to weigh well all possible alternatives – whether it is not necessary immediately to invest in something more prolonged, such as garden or traditional berry: the return on time from such investments may be more remote at a time, but – more reliable, long-term and stable.

Authors and Affiliations

Iryna Cherevko (Czerewko)

Keywords

EP ID EP503635
DOI 10.31734/agrarecon2018.03.055
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