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PhD Kirdan A.P.

Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Ukraine

 

MULTIFUNCTIONALITY – A TOOL ÒÎ SECURE AGRICULTURE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1.                 Multifunctionality in Decisions of International Organizations.

The multifunctionality concept in the context of agriculture interrelation and balanced functions has become the subject of discussion and historical recognition at the international level by the documents of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1992, the Uruguay Round in 1994, the World Food Summit in 1996, the FAO Conference in Maastricht (1999). The major conclusions of the discussion are as follows:

-                     Multifunctionality agriculture, addressing the economic, social and territorial aspects of development, ensures harmon­ic and respectful treatment of the environment that fits in the logic of the long-term development. Therefore, the multitask concept is a tool of analysis and methodology to develop the policy for agricultural sector sustainable development;

-                     Non-market social (food security, employment, resolving demographic problems, etc.) and environmental (conserva­tion of soil fertility, protection of water sources, formation of rational agrarian landscapes) functions need classification as essential public benefits to be provided for by the farmers with the state support regardless of economic interests;

-                     Recognition of the agriculture multifunctionality concept is the acknowledgement of limited force of the laws on the international trade liberalization in the food markets that the countries take into account while developing their national agrarian policies.

Agriculture multifunctionality recognition has become the result of gradual comprehension by the world community of the fact that agricultural development cannot be implement­ed without taking into account of its contribution into resolv­ing the employment issue in rural localities and protection of its ecologic and economic viability. Taking the above-men­tioned non-trade aspects of agriculture into account com­mands a larger part in agrarian policies of various govern­ments.

2.     Multifunctionality in European Terms.

The Cardiff European Council of 1998 has:

-                      defined the integration strategy to protect the rural envi­ronment as the EU Common Agrarian Policy;

-                      initiated the monitoring process over fulfillment by the EU members of the established indicators for economic, social and environmental aspects of agriculture development;

-                      established the forms for this process implementation. The Agreement of the Heads of European states and gov­ernments entitled "Action Plan for 2000" has extended the scope of European agricultural policy in two directions:

-                      by recognizing the importance of rural development policy at the level of policy support for agrarian market and distin­guishing it as Pillar II of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, and

-                      by establishing a modulation gear for financial assistance through redistribution of the part of budgetary funds to sup­port agricultural production in favor of rural development (reforest ravines, plant forest shelter belts, preserve flora and fauna diversity, protect natural forest reserves, support busi­ness commencement for young farmers, create additional jobs in agricultural farms (especially for young persons), manufacture necessary products safe for human health, etc).

3.     Multifunctionality in Agrarian Policy of Ukraine.

Awareness and importance recognition of the national multifunctionality agriculture is reflected in legislative acts and government regulations through which the domestic agrarian policy is implemented

The major objective of the State Target Program for Ukrainian rural development till 2015 is "to ensure sustainabiity of rural economy, its competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets, guarantee food security of the country and preserve the peasantry as the carrier of Ukrainian identity, culture and spirituality".

The Program contains a set of economic, social and envi­ronmental measures to be implemented to achieve the estab­lished objective through the efforts of agricultural producers, state agencies and local self-governments.

They include, inter alia:

-                      putting into effect of a number of support programs to arrange food markets and competitiveness of agricultural production under Ukraine's WTO membership;

-                      forcing the development of small and medium businesses and cooperation in agriculture as an important way to encour­age jobs and residence of rural population;

-                      drafting the Law of Ukraine "On Agriculture" that stipulates introduction of rural economy standards in line with the requirements set forth by agricultural laws, the needs of soci­ety in foodstuffs, rational and careful use of land, preserva­tion of rural employment;

-                      regulating the development of ecological farming and its certification system;

-                      carrying out soil conservation, erosion prevention and the other environmental protective measures with the state sup­port;

-                      preparing the development of the National Code of sustainable agrarian economy that will contain the rules of correct agricultural practices including agro-ecological requirements to the subjects of agricultural activity.

Formation of multifunctionality agriculture national pattern requires to raise substantial efforts by the state and rural pop­ulation for socio-economic reorientation of agrarian sector development. Such course will provide in the future the respectful place for Ukraine among the world developed agrarian countries.