Review Article

Conditions for the development of ecological agriculture in western Ukraine against Polish experience

Stakh Vovk

Institute of Agriculture in the Carpathian Region, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Ukraine

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 14(2), 2015, 23‒32

Abstract. Ukraine ranks second in Europe (after Russia) in terms of the agricultural land. Approximately 70% of the country area (41.5 million hectares) is agricultural land, of which 32 million hectares are arable land. Serbia (0.1%), Ukraine (0.7%), Moldova (0.9%) and Macedonia (1.2%) are the non-EU countries with the lowest percentage of ecological farmland in relation to agricultural land. Ukraine has a great potential in the production of organically grown food. There is a need for environmentally friendly products, but organic food market is just beginning to develop. In Ukraine, the surface area of agricultural land used for organic production increases every year. A similar situation was observed also in Poland. The number of organic products offered on the Ukrainian market is limited. In Ukraine, the market for organic products began to develop only at the beginning of 2000. Most of the Ukrainian organic farms are located in areas of Odessa, Cherson, Poltava, Vinnitsa, Transcarpathia, Lviv, Ternopil and Zhitomir. Ukrainian organic farms can become more competitive in the future for the European market. Favorable natural conditions for the development of this type of agriculture and increasing demand for organic products are an opportunity for Ukrainian agriculture. Today, Ukraine ranks first in Eastern Europe in respect of organic acreage.

Keywords: Ukraine, ecological agriculture, organic products