What drives peasant household to commercialize? An investigation of the factors leading to commercialization of semi-subsistence farming in Ukraine

Abstract

More than half of the total number of households in Ukraine are engaged in agricultural activities both for food self-sufficiency and for the production of marketable agricultural products, acting as subsistence or semi-subsistence farms. The determination of the right strategy for the further development of this form of farming is the key to the effective development of the agricultural sector, rural areas and the national economy as a whole. Instigated by Europe's CAP policy and its implementation, the study seeks to and delivers the factors influencing the commercialization of the semi-subsistence farms in Ukraine, based on the wealth of statistical data. The findings also show the lack of a strategy to support the establishment of a model of individual farming, which must counteract the risks of industrialized agro-production.

Keywords

• households
• semi-subsistence farming
• commercialisation
• self-sufficiency
• policy
• r38
• q18