News
06.07.2012
Agriculture minister urging for revival of countryside
The current priority of the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine is reform of the agricultural sector, which should not only solve economic problems in rural areas, but also take into account social interests of the peasants.
Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysiazhniuk made a statement to this effect, according to the press service of the ministry.
"To date, the share of rural population exceeds 30%, so reforming the agricultural sector without stimulating its main participant, the peasant, is impossible. That is why today our social obligation is to stop the decline in rural areas, to enable growers to earn and receive vital services at the level of the inhabitants of cities," the official noted.
He added that the President in his annual address to the Verkhovna Rada said that social problems in rural areas, including the creation of new jobs, infrastructure development, education and medicine support, are of priority for the state.
Settlement of these problems, the minister said, is impossible without “economic sub-soil”, on the creation of which the agriculture ministry's program Native Village is based.
"The main principle of the initiative Native Village is agricultural cooperation, which, combining the array of agricultural products, will allow the small-scale commodity producer to become a competitive participant in the domestic and foreign markets and create conditions for the enrichment of villages. Accordingly, it will give an impetus to addressing the problem of unemployment, loss of infrastructure, and will also provide financial incentives for people to live comfortably in the countryside," Mykola Prysiazhniuk underscored.
