Current trends in the development of agriculture in the context of digitalisation of the Ukrainian economy

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyse current trends in the development of agriculture in the context of the digitalization of the state’s economy, as well as to study the impact of these technologies on the agricultural sector, the environment, and society. Methods. To achieve this goal, the abstract and logical method, comparative and systematic analysis were used to study in-depth the use of digital technologies in agriculture, to structure and summarize the data obtained, and to substantiate the conclusions drawn. Results. Based on the analysed recent research and achievements in the field of digital technologies for solving agricultural problems, the main trends and their classification options were identified by the level of impact on the development of the agricultural sector, by technology groups. Since there are, indeed, more than 20 such trends, it was advisable to classify them and analyse what these technologies are based on for easy tracking and monitoring of their implementation in Ukraine. This paper explores the role of geospatial data for the development of agriculture as a component of Ukraine’s digital economy, as it is this data that provides high-quality analytics to stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Another relevant issue is the analysis of the impact of modern technologies on society and the environment where such farms are located. The developers of such systems and equipment should aim to achieve the global sustainable development goals by 2030, as the use of modern hardware and software should reduce the negative impact on the environment and increase the efficiency and rationality of the resources used. Conclusions. Summarizing the results of the research, the current trends in the development of the agricultural sector, namely precision farming and field monitoring, were analysed, as these technologies are now being actively implemented on farms, demonstrating positive yield dynamics and the efficiency of identifying and eliminating crises in production. Also, the established compliance of current trends in agricultural development with the goals of sustainable development has confirmed the feasibility and benefits of introducing digital technologies in agricultural production.