Diversification as a strategic direction for sustainable development of enterprises in the agricultural sector of the economy
Authors:   Uman national university of horticulture, Sokolyuk S. , Koroteev M. , Zharun O. , Tupchiy O. , Blenda N. 
Published: December 2021

The diversification of the activities of agricultural enterprises is considered as a process of mastering the production of new or expanding the range of traditional types of products, which makes it possible to more fully realize the existing natural, biological, resource, production potential and helps to strengthen financial, economic and environmental safety, increases the competitiveness and efficiency of economic entities. Today, the need to diversify the activities of domestic agricultural enterprises is determined by a set of prerequisites, both general economic and specific. In modern realities, the overwhelming majority of farmers are focused on the production of the most liquid and least capital- and labor-intensive types of products with a short payback period. The economic results of agricultural enterprises in most cases directly depend on the efficiency of production of grain and oilseeds. Narrow specialization, and sometimes practically monoculture, increases the threats of agrobiological, ecological, and economic nature Diversification of their activities allows minimizing the risks of agricultural enterprises from unfavorable phenomena of agrotechnical and weather-climatic nature and unforeseen changes in market conditions. Optimization of the sectoral structure on the basis of a rational combination of the main, additional, and subsidiary industries ensures more efficient use of land and means of production, leads to the leveling of seasonality, and creates conditions for an enterprise to receive a guaranteed stable income. The priority for the diversification of large-scale agricultural production is its investment and innovative development with a rational combination of crop and livestock industries, the revival of the traditional for Ukraine industries of beet growing, vegetable growing, horticulture, cattle breeding, pig breeding, sheep breeding. Diversification of the activities of small and medium-sized producers provides for an orientation towards the production of products with a high level of labor intensity, environmentally friendly organic products, niche agriculture, the production of non-traditional agricultural products, green, agritourism, etc. The need to change the raw material nature of the agricultural sector of the Ukrainian economy determines the need to increase the industrial processing of agricultural raw materials. This will not only make it possible to obtain greater added value, but will also ensure the creation of additional jobs, will contribute to the growth of incomes of the population, and an increase in the revenues of budgets of all levels. The development of diversification processes guarantees a stable income and an increase in the profitability of agricultural producers and will also contribute to the implementation of national priorities for ensuring the country's food security, increasing employment, and solving social and material problems of peasants.