CREDITING OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

The article thoroughly examines the specific features and distinctive characteristics of agricultural land lending as one of the key, strategically important, and increasingly relevant instruments for financing the development and modernization of the agricultural sector of the national economy. It provides an in-depth and systematic analysis of the main conditions, criteria, and institutional requirements for granting loans secured by land assets, while also highlighting their crucial and multifaceted role in ensuring the long-term sustainable development of farming enterprises, strengthening the foundation of a resilient and competitive agribusiness, and significantly increasing the overall productivity and efficiency of agricultural production in the context of ongoing market transformation and structural reforms. Particular attention is devoted to a comprehensive and detailed study of the consequences and implications of the official opening of the agricultural land market for the formation and evolution of current credit policies implemented by banking institutions. The article investigates changes in lending mechanisms and practices, shifts in risk assessment strategies, and the identification and analysis of major barriers, systemic constraints, and limiting institutional, legal, and financial factors that hinder or delay the effective and widespread use of agricultural land as viable collateral in credit and financial relations. The author emphasizes the urgent and growing need for the substantial and systematic improvement of the existing regulatory and legal framework governing land-based lending, the development and implementation of modern, independent, and transparent land valuation mechanisms, as well as the establishment and refinement of effective, reliable, and flexible tools and instruments aimed at mitigating and managing credit risks. These measures are seen as essential steps to ensure the expansion of full and equitable access of domestic agricultural producers, including small and medium-sized farms, to necessary financial resources, particularly from banking institutions, credit unions, and investment capital markets, thereby supporting rural development and agricultural innovation.