THE LENDING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to analyze and study the issues of lending to agricultural producers in Ukraine. Methodology. General scientific economic and mathematical methods as analysis, synthesis, abstraction, concretization, and special methods as comparison, tabular were used. Results of the study have shown that banks are actively involved in lending to agricultural producers, including microcredit. The volumes of short-term loans of banks of agricultural enterprises, including small and micro enterprises during 2013-2018 were studied. The rating of domestic banks that offer the most favorable lending conditions for agricultural enterprises is also studied. It is determined that the microcredit mechanism, presented in Ukraine as the support for small business, was first mentioned in the Procedure for using funds provided in the State Budget for 2004 for financial support of farms through the microcredit mechanism of March 17, 2004, No. 325. Currently, such support regarding the partial compensation of interest on loans from commercial banks and the reduction in the cost of loans also exists. The procedure for lending to agricultural enterprises in 2018 and 2019 is analyzed. In particular, the number of agricultural enterprises, which attracted soft loans in 2015-2018 and the volume of soft loans, attracted by agricultural enterprises in this period, were estimated. Practical implications. Factors, that hinder the development of microcredit in Ukraine, have been identified. The basic directions of the further development of microcredit of subjects of small agrarian business are defined. It is determined, that the microcredit market provides conditions for stable development of the domestic economy, and the result of the use of microcredit should be the development of production aimed at priority sectors of the economy, including agriculture, the production of competitive products, and providing high-quality services.