The work aims to discuss current problems and challenges for agriculture in the Republic of Belarus. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the socio-economic processes initiated in 2020 somewhat worsened the situation in the agricultural sector, and the existing problems deepened and reasserted themselves. The methods of statistical comparative analysis used in the study together with the construction of dynamic series, which reflect changes in the phenomenon over time, allowed for the identification of certain trends and regularities characteristic of Belarusian agriculture. On the other hand, dialectical analysis made it possible to identify the sources of the main obstacles to effective functioning. The study concludes that the reform of the agricultural system is of key importance for the future performance of Belarusian agriculture. The lack of a uniform approach to the development of the separate spheres of the agro-industrial complex (rus. агропромышленный комплекс, далее – АПК) leads to significant disproportions in their effectiveness. On the other hand, the lack of diversification of buyers on the market of agricultural products leads to a significant dependence of Belarusian producers on the market conditions of the Russian Federation. An attempt to create large cluster formations should be accompanied by appropriate justification and calculation of potential opportunities and threats.

The main goal of the article is to identify the basic patterns of the formation of human capital (HC). An especially valuable and scarce resource of the modern economy is becoming a creative skilled worker capable of generating ideas, as well as creating and implementing new technological solutions and products. The development of the economy leads to significant transformations in the generation of resource potential, and changes in the role of individual resources. Human capital begins to play a dominant role in the resource hierarchy. It is the HC that sets in motion the production processes and determines the efficiency of using the entire resource potential. The methods of aspect analysis and of apperception used in this study made it possible to identify modern patterns peculiar to the formation of human capital in the economy, and to emphasize its objective importance and ability to significantly influence the development of society. During the research, the authors proved that human capital acquires the status of the main resource in the economy, the quantitative characteristics of the workforce capacity give way to the role of qualitative characteristics, and the development of STP requires a new employee formation to dominate the intellectual component.