SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES OF TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT OF THE PLANT GROWING INDUSTRY

The current state of technical and technological support of agriculture in Ukraine and some European countries is studied, its economic aspects are analyzed. It is established that the processes of reforming agricultural enterprises have caused a crisis in the formation of their technical and technological base and, as a result, a decrease in the number of technical means in most agricultural enterprises. The decrease in the number of main types of agricultural machinery per unit area is primarily due to an increase in its capacity, the introduction of innovative solutions in crop cultivation technologies and changes in the structure of their sown areas. Research results have shown that similar trends are observed in other countries. It was found that the level of arable land load per tractor and grain area per combine harvester in Ukraine is the highest among European countries. When completing a machine and tractor fleet, agricultural producers prefer high-powered tractors, which are optimal for cultivating large areas. Structural changes in the technical support of Ukrainian agriculture indicate that the reduction in the number of machinery is a natural reaction of agricultural producers to the increase in its productivity. The decrease in the number of technical means in agricultural enterprises is not a sign of a reduction in technical potential, but rather indicates problems in the domestic agricultural machinery industry and insufficient market development. Even if agricultural producers are willing to buy and use domestic machinery, their production volumes do not meet the needs. The current development of the agricultural machinery industry in Ukraine is also negatively affected by full-scale military operations. In order to overcome the identified problems of technical support of agricultural production, especially its active part, the ways of its improvement in agricultural enterprises are proposed, including quantitative and qualitative growth of technical means necessary for timely and highquality performance of a complex of field works using innovative technologies. Proposals are made to eliminate the problems of technical support of the industry by means of state regulation.