Smart-specialization development of farms

Abstract

Looking for ways to increasing efficiency of farms is an important national economic problem. At the same time, priorities should be given to endogenous factors of economic development. Moreover, the experience of the most successful farmers has shown that smart-specialization as a concept of sustainable, innovative and niche agricultural production has a high potential for improving management efficiency now. The aim of the research is to form the scientific bases for farms smart-specialization development. The conceptual fundamentals of development the smart-specialization of Ukrainian farms are outlined, which are based on the principles of innovativeness and competence of farmers, entrepreneurial search, rational production specialization, economic, environmental and social efficiency of land use, intensification of inter-farm interaction. It has been substantiated that transition to the smart-specialization makes it possible to reorient farms to a model of innovatively-oriented strategic specialized diversification of agricultural production, intensive, integrated growth in niche segments of the agrarian market under the conditions of the optimal realization of their land and resource potential, limited effect of economies of scale in farms and competitive pressure. It has been shown, that the system of managerial decisions in the conditions of smart-specialization of farms should be based on the balance of ensuring maximum efficiency or sensitivity of production to changes in market conditions. In the first case, a production should be more flexible, but less specialized. In the second case, a specialization will be narrow with the maximum full utilization of production capacities of the economy. Focusing on the product it is necessary to determine the optimal volume of production, based on market demand, taking into account seasonality. Two-way communication with production shows the interdependence of these factors on the level and chosen direction of the smart-specialization of a farm, causing a wide or narrow range of production, as well as the dynamics of the level of finished goods inventories. In order to increasing efficiency of farms in the transition to the smart-specialization model, the creation of the national information center (hub) for farming development on the basis of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Ukraine have been promised.