Farming potential of households: methodical approaches to evaluation and development

Based on extended interpretation of the essence of farming, the article outlines the boundaries of the farming segment in Ukrainian agriculture. This farming segment includes not only registered farms, but also those households, which meet the global farming criteria. The authors estimate the number of the households (personal peasant farms) of farmer type and their productive potential and prove that one of the top priorities in improving the mechanism of state support for farming is encouraging the households to institutionalize (formalize) their agricultural activities. It is proposed to introduce a five-year program to provide financial assistance to the households (personal peasant farms) in order to expand the scale of their current agricultural output, to start new activities, and to increase the level of commercialization and subsequent formalization in the regulatory environment. The main provisions of the program were developed, such as the requirements for potential beneficiaries and the results of their participation in the program; conditions for the allocation and use of support funds; estimated number of participants; the need for budget financing etc. According to calculations, during the program period, it will involve 75 thousand households, who, after fulfilling all the stipulated conditions, will join the farm segment.