State Regulation and Support of Organic Farming in Canada and Ukraine: An Overview of Key Indicators and Comparative Analysis of Both Countries

Abstract

The goal of organic agricultural production is to provide humanity with high-quality food without genetically modified organisms and to support the sustainability of society. It is noted that the many benefits of organic agriculture make us think about the prospects for the development of global agriculture as one of the key factors influencing the future of the next generations. n this article we outline the main stages of evolution in the organic farming sphere and emphasize the characteristics that are relevant to each stage; define the term “organic farming” specified for Canadian and Ukrainian legislative systems. This paper also highlights the main prerequisites for the need for state support for organic production in the world on the example of two big organic producers – Canada and Ukraine. Based on the main indicators of the current state and level of development in both countries, the need for government regulation, support, and stimulation are considered. The main approaches to the stimulation and development of organic production in Canada are considered in order to determine priorities for Ukraine. It is established that subsidies for organic agriculture in Canada at one time gave an extremely important impetus to the development of this area of agricultural production, which ultimately led to significant progress in environmental protection, climate change mitigation, health, development of rural areas, and consumer protection. Also, it gave a significant boost for the national farmers, so they could grow in the area and improve their farming activity using innovative technologies. The domestic experience of financial and organizational and legal support of the organic sphere at the state and regional levels for the formation of areas for improvement is analyzed. The necessity of not only direct financial state support, but also active educational, research, and organizational support together with representatives of the active community and business has been proved. It was recovered that the main problems of the development of organic farming in Ukraine and obstacles to the formation of green policy in the field of agriculture include the following: lack of state control and statistical reporting of production, circulation, and sale of organic production; - lack of developed infrastructure in the organic sector of the agricultural sector; - imperfection of the system of certification and labeling of organic products, inconsistency of these processes with European standards; - lack of state support programs for organic producers and an insufficient number of local support programs. The necessity of a systematic approach to the stimulation and development of the domestic organic sphere to ensure the sustainability of the agricultural sector of Ukraine is substantiated. It is established that the policy of organic support in our country is not yet characterized by a high level of system and consistency, but important initial steps have been taken in the areas of organizational, legal, and financial support of organic production.