Sustainable growth in agricultural production should be based on the processes of intensification of agricultural production. Unfortunately, the concept of “intensification” has been forgotten in the post-reform period, but the processes taking place in the industry indicate the opposite. Practice shows that many elements and signs of intensification are present to a greater extent in a market economy. Modern agricultural production is based on a farming system, a component of which is a system of mineral nutrition for agricultural crops. Chemicalization, as an element of intensification, is a key factor in increasing yields, profit and profitability of production. Significant financial resources of enterprises are invested into this direction. The peculiarity of the current level of development of the industry is that the prospects for the development of crop raising should be focused on optimizing the proportions of mineral nutrition that do not violate the natural and ecological balance, which implies the cultivation of ecologically clean agricultural products. It is proposed to assess the effectiveness of the chemicalization process by the coefficient (indicator) of the level of return of mineral fertilizers by agricultural products.