Land resources of the agricultural sector of Ukraine: current state, transformations and sustainable development

Abstract

The article examines the current state, structure and development trends of land resources in Ukraine under the conditions of long-term agrarian reforms and institutional transformations of the agricultural sector. Particular attention is paid to the role of agricultural land as a key component of the national resource potential and a fundamental factor of agricultural production. Based on official statistical data, the dynamics of the land fund, changes in the structure of agricultural land, and redistribution of land among landowners and land users are analyzed. The study identifies significant shifts in land use patterns caused by agrarian reforms, including the reduction of land areas used by large agricultural enterprises, the expansion of household land use, the formation of farmer farms, and the emergence of new categories of land users.
The paper highlights the problem of excessive ploughing of agricultural land in Ukraine, which significantly exceeds the indicators of most European countries and leads to soil degradation, erosion processes, loss of fertility and deterioration of environmental sustainability. The growing concentration of land use, especially within large agricultural enterprises, is considered a potential threat to the development of family farming, rural employment and balanced territorial development.
The research emphasizes that land resources play a crucial role in ensuring food security, economic stability and sustainable development of rural areas. At the same time, purely market-oriented and technical approaches to land relations regulation have resulted in structural imbalances in the agricultural land market. The article substantiates the need for improving the institutional and legal framework of land relations regulation, taking into account European Union recommendations, environmental requirements and social priorities. The conclusions stress that effective land policy should be aimed at rational land use, prevention of land degradation, support of small and medium agricultural producers, and long-term preservation of land as a strategic national asset.