The Role of Beekeeping in Achieving Sustainable Development of Agricultural Enterprises and Rural Areas

Abstract

The improvement of the economic performance of agricultural enterprises should not be accompanied by the deterioration of the quality of the environment and cause social tension among the employees of the enterprise and the population living in the surrounding area. Therefore, the problem arose of finding such directions of development of agricultural enterprises that would simultaneously contribute to the improvement of financial and economic indicators of their activity, as well as ensure the sustainable development of both the enterprises themselves and the sustainable development of the surrounding rural areas. The article examines the positive value of the agricultural sector, in particular: production of products, creation of jobs, provision of foreign exchange revenues to the state budget, the possibility of providing services of unity with nature. However, it was noted that the agricultural industry has negative consequences of its activity, in particular: the deterioration of the quality of the soil, the increase in the level of plowing, the excessive use of chemical plant protection agents leads to an increase in the level of soil pollution, the death of representatives of the fauna, as well as an increase in the level of human illness. It is proposed to restore and develop the beekeeping industry in order to reorient the activities of the agrarian industry on the principles of sustainable development. Both existing agricultural enterprises and small peasant farms can be engaged in bee breeding. For agricultural enterprises, beekeeping is a direction of diversification that can bring additional income. For rural residents, beekeeping is a way to provide themselves with a workplace and to earn from the sale of beekeeping products and the provision of pollination services to agricultural enterprises, which will be able to sell their products as organic at higher prices. However, starting a beekeeping business requires significant investments, which are not at the disposal of small peasant farms. Therefore, they are suggested to join cooperatives. This will make it possible to carry out laboratory analysis, form large batches of honey and sell it at a higher price. The cooperative can also pack and process honey with possible independent export. In general, the development of the beekeeping industry will contribute to increasing the level of employment in rural areas and improving the ecological situation, which corresponds to the principles of sustainable development.