MODERN THEORETICAL-CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO FORMULATION OF THE CONCEPT "AGRICULTURAL REGION"

Abstract

Introduction. In modern scientific literature, we encounter a wide use of the concepts and terms "rural regions", "rural territories", "rural area", "village", etc. From the everyday point of view, such polyconceptuality is quite acceptable, but in the light of solving a specific scientific problem, it is necessary, in our opinion, to agree on the main concepts and terms within the chosen conceptual and conceptual field of research.

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to study the definition of the socio-economic essence of the concept of "rural regions" and to identify its terminological potential based on the generalization of terms and concepts found in the conceptual and conceptual field of research on rural regions.

Results. Harmonious development of the country, growth of its competitiveness is impossible without preserving the potential of rural regions. Rural regions not only shape the food security of states, but also preserve the cultural, ethnic, and historical traditions of rural areas. The concept of "rural region" in domestic science is insufficiently developed. In different countries, there are many definitions of "rural areas", "rural areas", which differ depending on the political system of the states, as well as on the national, economic, demographic, social, geographical and other characteristics of the countries. A rural region is a complex socio-economic system, the internal environment of which consists of economic, social and ecological subsystems, which is characterized by a certain set of qualitative characteristics and which performs various national economic functions.

Based on the examination of modern scientific publications, the imperfection of empirical observations was determined, which do not provide a complete picture of the regional features of the development of rural areas of Ukraine. The article typologizes rural regions according to various classification features, characterizes the levels and varieties of these socio-spatial formations. The main characteristics of the rural region are highlighted and it is substantiated that the overall, integral characteristic of the region is given by the size and structure of its socio-economic potential. It includes natural resource, demographic, scientific and technical, informational, industrial, recreational, social and cultural potentials. It is noted that the concept of "rural region" is not commonly used in scientific literature. According to the authors, this is due to the ambiguous interpretation of the key terms "region" and "rural". In modern sources, the term "region" refers to various spatial systems of extremely diverse scales - from a group of states to small administrative-territorial units and even their parts.

Originality. The article specifies the essence of the concept of "rural region". The author's definition of the concept of a rural region is given, namely: "A rural region is a historically formed part of the country's territory, outside the borders of cities and purely industrial facilities, which is an independent territorial subsystem of the country's economic complex, with production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods and services.

Conclusion. In the results of scientific research, law-making activities, normative and legal documentation, the variability of wording is still allowed, which allows each researcher to choose the most acceptable of them. The analysis of the available definitions and essential features of the concept of "rural region" and related terms, concepts, and concepts allows us to assert that this concept has the greatest terminological potential for describing such a complex, multifunctional social phenomenon as a rural region.