Concept of the State Target Program for the Development of the Ukrainian Rural Areas for the Period until 2015.

This Concept of the State Target Program for the Development of the Ukrainian Rural Areas for the Period until 2015 is a multisectoral nationwide policy document concerning one third of the total population living in rural areas and agro-industrial complex employing 4 million people from the rural population.
The main goal of the Program is to ensure the viability of agriculture, its competitiveness in the domestic and foreign markets, to guarantee the country's food security, to preserve the peasantry as a carrier of Ukrainian identity, culture and spirituality.
Ways of solving the existing problems shall be as follows: (a) clear delineation of functions and powers of central and local executive authorities in the field of rural development; (b) implementation of social standards and regulations in rural areas; (c) determination of priorities of agricultural sector development with the consideration of zonal and regional peculiarities; (d) improvement of state support of agrarian sector and ensuring the development of rural territories in compliance with WTO requirements; (e) legal and technical registration of land ownership and land use rights; (f) regulation of land relations and rationalization of land use, formation of the agricultural land market; (g) ensuring food quality control and food safety; (h) increasing capacity of agricultural market and production output of foodstuffs with the consideration of the demand of the population and its purchasing power; (i) introduction of ecofriendly and resource-saving technologies; (j) improving insurance and tax policies in the agricultural sector; and (k) preservation potential of labour resources of the agrarian sector.
The main objectives of the Program shall be as follows: (a) creation of socio-economic conditions for integrated development of rural areas; (b) increasing effective employment of the rural population; (c) supporting the competitiveness of the agrarian sector; and (d) creation of environmentally safe living conditions of the rural population, protection of environment and rational uses of natural resources, in particular agricultural land.
Expected results: (a) to increase effective rural employment and income of the rural population; (b) to increase output capacity of the domestic agrarian market in order to ensure the country’s food security; (c) to create transparent and effective food supply chain production from the producer to the consumer; (d) to reach production of gross agricultural production in 2015 compared to 2006 by 1.6 times; (e) to increase the share of organic produce in the total gross agricultural output to 10 percent; (f) to put into practice basic agro-environmental requirements and standards in accordance with EU regulations; and (g) to bring the consumption of basic foodstuffs in 2015 to rational standards.