SOCIO-ECONOMIC COMPONENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE BASIS OF AGROECOLOGY: SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED ASPECTS

Abstract

The study emphasizes the lack of adequate focus on the socio-economic component of agroecology, the content of which as a scientific direction, public movement, and management method is usually represented in the context of the interaction between the natural environment and agriculture. The socio-economic, socio-cultural, and institutional factors influencing the agroecological transition of agriculture and rural areas to sustainable development are revealed, and directions of their activation for the formation of sustainable agro-food systems are shown. Socio-economic aspects of agroecology are reflected in the relations regarding the creation of its outputs – organic products and environmental public goods. Socio-cultural aspects, in turn, represent needs, values, motives, etc., and thus the behavior of people towards agroecological products. The institutional environment is shaped by regulations and unwritten rules that define the rules of production and consumption of these products. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) interprets the term "agroecology" as essentially a socio-economic term. The socio-economic nature of agroecology is manifested in its alignment with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals: economic (strengthening food security, poverty alleviation), ecological (mitigating climate change impacts, preserving ecosystems), and social goals (eliminating hunger, reducing social inequality, providing employment for youth, promoting gender equality). Agroecology is capable and should ensure optimal interaction between the flora and fauna, humans, and the environment, taking into account the necessary social aspects for the creation of sustainable and equitable (inclusive) food systems. Small-scale agricultural producers play a crucial role in shaping such systems. To enhance the socio-economic component of agroecology and promote the development of sustainable agri-food systems in Ukraine, it is necessary to: improve the institutional environment for agricultural and rural development, taking into account the modern content of agroecology; strengthen the stability, resilience, and inclusiveness of local, regional, and national agricultural production and food systems; create mechanisms to support the development of agroecological practices, particularly in the context of family peasant farms and farming households.