The reason for the weak development of agriculture in Ukraine and in Volyn in particular is ill-conceived policy in the agricultural sector, believes the head of the Association of Farmers and Landowners of Volyn, Bohdan Prus.
Thus, 80 percent of agricultural products in Volyn are produced by small private owners who are not registered legally anywhere and work on their own. In Ukraine this figure is at the level of 75 percent. Proceeding from this, the state's legislative policy in the sphere of agriculture should be built, believes Bohdan Stepanovych.
Being outside the legal field, the small owner of a subsistence farm cannot enjoy the benefits that farmers have. Thus, in addition to the budget not receiving taxes, the peasant accordingly does not pay contributions to the Pension Fund and for social insurance, which in the future will affect the level of his pension. Also, some unregistered "small" agricultural producers in Volyn have subsistence farms with an area of up to 30 hectares.
Therefore, the primary task of the state in the sphere of agricultural policy is to encourage agricultural producers to register and work within the legal field, believes Bohdan Stepanovych. After all, private owners produce 35-40 percent of grain, 98 percent of potatoes, more than half of sugar beets, and so on. However, the authorities are oriented toward the development of large agricultural enterprises and pay more attention to them. In general, in Ukraine there are 3 grain markets: large-scale commodity farms, farms, and subsistence farms.