Status and development prospects of agricultural cooperatives in the context of European integration processes

Abstract

The intensification of agricultural cooperatives is of particular significance in the system of increasing the competitiveness and adaptability of the agricultural sector of the economy, stabilising food security in the context of integration with the European community. The purpose of this study was to substantiate the economic, theoretical, methodological, and social provisions of the functioning of agricultural cooperatives in the context of European integration processes. The study employed general scientific methods of cognition in generalising the trends in the development of cooperation in the pre-war and wartime periods, and the specifics of the regulatory framework; the structural and functional method in determining the indicators that hinder the functioning of agricultural cooperatives; analysis and synthesis in assessing the trends in the development of cooperatives; and analysis in assessing and characterising individual cooperative structures. The study considered the current state, place, and role of agricultural cooperatives in the context of European integration processes in Ukraine’s accession to the European community. A systematic analysis of the problems and trends in the functioning of agricultural cooperatives in Ukraine during wartime was performed. The theoretical and methodological aspects of the functioning of cooperative entities were considered. The reasons that impede the activation of the cooperative movement in the agrarian sector of the economy at the present stage of development were identified. The study considered the trends in the development of agricultural cooperatives in the European Union and the world. The dynamics of development of agricultural cooperation in Ukraine was assessed and the study identified the negative aspects that should be considered in the organisation and functioning of agricultural cooperatives, depending on the type and activities of the cooperative. The role of international technical assistance and state support in stimulating and strategising the development of agricultural cooperation in Ukraine was determined. The study identified the opportunities and prospects for the development of the cooperative movement and problems of sustainable development of cooperatives through the involvement of private farms in integration processes. The role of cooperatives in the development of social capital and sustainable development of rural areas in the post-war reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy was covered. The information material can be used in the development of programmes for the development of business entities in the agricultural business of the regions