Territorial aspects of the development of organic agriculture in the region

Abstract. The purpose of the study was to study the peculiarities of the territorial distribution of agricultural producers and the impact of their location on the development of regional organic agriculture in the future. The information base was the results of a questionnaire survey of 100 agricultural producers of the Leningrad region, representing mainly peasant (farming) farms in the region. To assess the impact of the territorial factor on the possibilities of developing organic production, 4 groups of respondents were identified, depending on the remoteness of the farm from the regional center – Saint Petersburg, as well as district centers. Results. Based on the analysis of the typological characteristics of the respondents and their answers, it was concluded that the participants of the first group (up to 50 km from Saint Petersburg) and at the distance of the farm from the regional center from 101 to 200 km show greater interest in organic production. This confirms the thesis that the territorial factor increases the risks of entrepreneurial activity in agriculture. However, there was no close dependence of farmers' motivation on the location of farms. The multidirectional influence of territorial remoteness on interest in organic production has been established, which is associated with a complex of stimulating or limiting factors. It was determined that in each of the groups of respondents (except the first) there is a large proportion (from 20 to 40 %) of people who found it difficult to answer about their intention to switch to organic status, which allows them to be considered possible participants in this sector in the future, if there are more comfortable conditions of activity. The scientific novelty of the study is to identify the peculiarities of the influence of the territorial factor on the interest of small businesses in the transition to organic production, which will allow them to be taken into account when implementing appropriate regional programs to mitigate existing barriers to entrepreneurial activity in the agricultural sector.