Investments and land reform in agriculture of Ukraine

Purpose. The purpose of the paper is to identify trends and factors of investment in agriculture in Ukraine in the period 2014–2019 and the impact of land reform, expected liberalization of the trade of agricultural land on the of investment in agriculture. Methodology / approach. We used for the research such methods as logical operations (analysis, synthesis, generalization, induction, deduction) – to determine the trends of investment, to make conclusions about the impact of land reform on investment; indices – to identify quantitative changes in nominal and real investments, factors impact; trend analysis – to identify the main tendencies of changes, build the functions of the investment trend in different periods, factors and correlation analysis –- to identify the main factors and the density of relationships, the dependence of investment on the factors (profit, prices, interest rates); graphic – for visual presentation of investment dynamics. The research was performed on the basis of statistical data of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine, statistical and financial reports of agricultural enterprises of Kharkiv region and data of own observations for 2014–2019 (for the calculation of indices of some indicators and correlation coefficients data of 2009–2019 was used). Results. The function of the trend, which reveals the general direction of change in annual volumes of investment in agriculture in 2014–2019 in Ukraine, was defined. The main factors influencing the investment process were revealed: rising prices for agricultural products, low level of disparity in prices for agricultural products and material and technical resources, export orientation of production and favorable for exporters dynamics of the national currency, agro-innovation, profitability of agricultural production. However, the effect of revealed factors does not explain the decrease of investment in 2019. The study showed that expectations of changes in the legislation on agricultural land sales had a negative impact on the dynamics of investment in agriculture in Ukraine. To maintain the trend of increasing investment in agricultural production, its technical and technological renewal, it is important to implement a set of legal, economic, technical and organizational measures that will ensure quality of reform of land relations. Originality / scientific novelty. Revealing the dynamics of investmentі in agriculture in Ukraine and identification of the most significant factors influencing them in 2014–2019 were further developed. Changes of the annual volume of investment under the influence of expectations of the introduction of the land market in Ukraine are estimated. It is proved that while the ownership rights on the agricultural land remain unclear and uncompleted, it is impossible to assert about the grounds for improving the efficiency of land use, increasing investment in agriculture due to the abolition of the moratorium on land sales. The duration of the lag of the impact of land reform on increasing investment in agriculture will depend on the quality of institutions of land use and land market. Practical value / implications. The results of the study can be used in management at both micro and macro levels to forecast the volume of investment in agriculture, develop measures to stimulate investment and deepening land reform.