Structural changes in the location and sectoral specialization of livestock breeding in the pre-war and during the war period

Abstract

The article reveals structural shifts in the territorial organization and sectoral structure of animal husbandry in pre-war and during the war. Their trends were determined, an assessment was made, and certain regularities over the past 30 years were summarized. It was established that previously, animal husbandry was represented in almost all agricultural enterprises in the form of the organization and operation of farms of collective farms and state farms and had a relatively explicit zonal specialization by the objectively existing agricultural zones based on agro-climatic and production and economic indicators - Forest or Polissia, Forest-Steppe and Steppe; zones of the altitudinal belt in the mountains; suburban economy near large cities and urban agglomerations. However, in the 90s of the last centuries, the country started the curtailment of animal husbandry, the trends of which have not been overcome and persisted during the last 30 years and were significantly deepened by the war. It was determined that their causes were formed under the influence of inconsistent reforms and imperfect institutions for regulating the development of the industry; lack of investments and slow modernization and introduction of innovations; lack of entrepreneurial initiative among the vast majority of product manufacturers; deformation of the structure of agricultural land in the form of a significant reduction in the area of natural hayfields and pastures, a reduction in fodder production; the decline of selection and tribal food; a decrease in productivity and competitiveness compared to the indicators of the leading countries of the world and meat exporting countries. The only exception is the breeding of chickens and the production of products from them, which was revived on an innovative basis in the form of industrialized enterprises of extensive agricultural holdings with overconcentration of production and its main factors (land and capital) and acquired the status of a leading industry not only in the domestic, but also in the international product market poultry farming Cattle for meat, sheep breeding, horse breeding, and animal husbandry experienced the most significant reduction. On the contrary, beekeeping increased but suffered huge losses due to the war. As for the placement of industries, it had an explicit zonal conditionality and territorial organization with an orientation to the factors of raw materials for fodder, weather and climatic conditions for maintenance, factors of proximity to the consumer, and logistical support for the sale of products. However, with the modernization of enterprises and the concentration of production in large volumes, the improvement of communication routes and the increase in the speed of vehicles, the improvement of refrigeration equipment, the change in the location of crop production due to warming and the decrease in the amount of precipitation, the zonal specialization of livestock production is gradually losing its clarity, but this practically does not affect the efficiency of production. Accommodation remains a significant factor in the efficiency of poultry farming due to the focus on grain farming of the meat direction of cattle, sheep breeding, and horse breeding due to the focus on natural pastures. However, with the war, many animals and poultry, premises and equipment, property, and finished products were lost, and the industry suffered colossal losses. Among the factors of placement of livestock enterprises, safety was the first. Therefore, shifts in the location and branch structure of the industry have changed zonal priorities to regional ones and directions from north-south vectors to east-west. The priority is to prevent the destruction of livestock enterprises and their functioning in the relatively safe central and western regions. Keywords: structure, livestock, enterprises, households, agricultural zones, fodder production, purchase prices, innovations, territorial and industry specialization, risks, security, priorities, and prospects.