Цифрова трансформація аграрного сектору як чинник соціально-економічної стійкості сільських територій: досвід ЄС та імплікації для України

Abstract

The war has turned the resilience of Ukraine’s rural areas into a question of their survival: demographic losses are estimated at about 10 million people, and over 4 million rural residents lack quality fixed internet access. In Ukraine, the digital transformation of the agricultural sector is implemented mainly as an instrument of production efficiency. In EU policy, by contrast, it has been institutionalised as a factor of rural community resilience – with dedicated programmes, targeted funding and practical mechanisms. This asymmetry determines the relevance of the study: the social potential of agricultural digitalisation in Ukraine remains untapped precisely when the need for it is most acute. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the role of agricultural digital transformation as a factor of socio-economic resilience of rural areas and to develop practical measures for strengthening it based on the EU experience. The methodological basis comprises the systems approach, content analysis of EU and FAO strategic documents, comparative analysis, scientific modelling and systematisation. A three-component model of resilience is proposed, distinguishing the production-economic, social and institutional dimensions of the impact of agricultural digital transformation. It is substantiated that under war conditions the social and institutional dimensions acquire priority, as they determine the capacity of communities to retain population and recover. A matrix of practical measures is developed across the three dimensions, specifying responsible actors, time horizons and differentiated funding sources, together with a roadmap for implementation at the wartime, recovery and integration stages. The practical significance lies in the applicability of the proposed measures for shaping state policy for the recovery of rural areas. The scientific contribution lies in adapting a multidimensional approach to rural resilience to the conditions of wartime disruption by substantiating the priority of the social and institutional dimensions of agricultural digital transformation and translating the resulting policy priorities into a matrix of measures and a phased recovery roadmap. Article type: theoretical and applied.