RYE GROWING IN CONTEXT OF FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article substantiates the feasibility of growing rye from the point of view of food and environmental security of Ukraine. The authors analyze the nutritional value (composition of rye grain), ecological and economic efficiency of growing rye in comparison with other grain crops. Based on the results of the analysis, a conclusion was made about the positive impact of rye on human health and its important role in preserving the fertility of arable land due to its phytosanitary properties and ability to increase the yields of other crops. Therefore, growing rye contributes not only to food, but also to ecological security of the country, ensures resource security of agricultural land use. Despite the favorable climatic and natural conditions, the analysis of static data shows that the cultivated area of rye in Ukraine decreased by 3.75 times between 1990 and 2020, and the volume of its harvest decreased significantly. Despite the improvement of the situation in 2021 in Ukraine as a whole, there is a negative trend of decreasing cultivated areas in the main "rye" regions of the country. Having analyzed the yield of rye compared to wheat during 1990-2021, the authors note that it is not too low and is 68-83%. According to the authors, the slightly lower productivity of rye is compensated by the economic benefits of its cultivation, in particular, as a result of practically zero costs for poisoning the population and nourishing the soil. The advantage of growing rye on infertile soils (acidic and sandy) is even more noticeable: its yield is twice that of wheat. Based on the positions of the system approach, the authors justify the effectiveness of growing rye.In this regard, possible main directions for increasing rye cultivation are suggested: rationalization of agricultural land use, which leads to the fullest possible use of land (primarily, low fertility) in crop rotations for sowing rye; state support in the cultivation and processing of rye, especially in its commercialization; carrying out a campaign on the feasibility of consuming rye bread; development of crop insurance; organizational arrangement of commodity producers of rye, their premiums and improvement of the level of their agricultural culture.