THE ROLE OF INNOVATIONS IN AGRICULTURE

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the conducted research was to substantiate the role of innovations and the consequences of innovative activities in agricultural enterprises. Methods. The methodological basis of the study was the works of domestic and foreign economists, devoted to issues of enterprise management, organization of innovative activities, abstract-logical methods were used in the development and solving of the tasks. The results. When analyzing the agricultural sector in the world, the term “Green Revolution” is often used. The Green Revolution is the transformation of agriculture based on modern agricultural technology. It includes three main components: the development of new quick-ripening varieties of cereals; expansion of irrigation; wider use of modern technology, fertilizers and other chemicals. In the 30s of the last century, on the basis of scientific and technical progress, re-equipment of technological processes with the use of the latest agricultural machinery and agro-technologies began to take place, especially in crop production. One machine began to replace the work of hundreds of people and significantly increased labor productivity. On the basis of Cochrane’s “treadmill” theory, the role of innovation and the consequences of innovative activity are substantiated. Cochrane’s treadmill theory suggests that the product sold by farmers is identical, and therefore the only way to compete for consumers is to offer a lower price. If you have the opportunity to purchase products of the same quality from different manufacturers, you will usually choose the cheaper option. If, of course, the products will have different quality and, accordingly, different prices, then you choose depending on your own needs and preferences. If the buyer of products chooses product quality as his priorities, then of course he will want to buy quality products, even in smaller quantities. However, as the practice of Ukrainian processors shows, price is still the priority at the moment. Forming a modern agricultural industry, it is necessary to create flexible and open competition between agricultural producers who offer a wide range of products. Since the wishes and requests of consumers are diverse, this is precisely what forms a wide range of manufacturers of various assortments and various demand products. And in this case, each product must find its buyer, avoiding the problem of the “Cochrane Treadmill”. Conclusions. In recent years, agriculture has seen significant innovation shifts and innovations that are transforming the industry into a more efficient and sustainable one. Agricultural producers are constantly looking for new ways to effectively manage their farms. In Ukraine, there is an excessive bias towards the purchase of ready-made equipment and technologies abroad to the detriment of the introduction of domestic new developments. The absolute dominance of the least advanced types of innovative behavior characterizes the Ukrainian innovation system in the agricultural sector as being imitative in nature. Thus, from the point of view of the innovation regime, which characterizes the environment in which the agrarian sector of the economy functions, which gives an idea of the specifics of its innovative activity, there is a regime of inertial import-oriented technological development.