ADVANTAGES OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE AND THE STATE OF ITS DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The advantages of implementing organic farming on the territory of Ukraine, the development of which is quite relevant even today, in wartime are considered in the article. The negative impact on the condition of agricultural lands due to the use of outdated agricultural technologies and non-compliance with the rules of agricultural activity was determined. It is noted that since the main elements of organic farming are a system of scientifically based soil cultivation, treatment of it as a renewable resource, introduction of permaculture technologies, mulching and other technologies, all this leads to an increase in soil fertility. The advantages of organic farming over traditional farming have been established, namely: environmental, consumer, economic, social, which are manifested mainly through the greening of production, changes in techniques and approaches to planting plants, replacement of traditional chemical fertilizers, poisons, pesticides with organic ones. The ecological advantages consist in preserving soil fertility and structure, reducing the phytopathogenic background, stopping soil degradation processes, and restoring biodiversity. Consumer benefits are mainly the improvement of quality characteristics of organically grown food products. Economic advantages are manifested in the increase in the efficiency of production of organic products, the growth of GDP and the level of employment. Social benefits include reducing the risk of various diseases. An analysis of the dynamics of the main indicators of the development of organic agriculture in Ukraine was carried out, namely: the number of operators (producers) of organic products and the amount of land under organic production. A positive trend of growth in the number of producers of organic products and the area of land on which organic products are grown was noted. Since organic farming contributes to the further strengthening of the ecological balance, its development is observed in more than 180 countries and plays an important role in achieving the goals of sustainable development. The identified advantages of organic farming form the need for the development of this field in Ukraine as well