INSURANCE OF RISKS OF CEREAL PRODUCTION BY SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES

Abstract

Abstract. This article analyzes the volume of sown and harvested cereals in Ukraine. It is established that the pro-duction of agricultural products is accompanied annually by risks that can be minimized by insurance. It is determined that the coverage of agricultural area insurance in Ukraine does not exceed 5%, while in Europe the figure exceeds 60-70%. The main insurance products offered in the agricultural insurance market are studied. These include classic (comprehensive) and index insurance products, which have certain advantages and disadvantages. It is established that insurance based on weather indices is the most suitable for agricultural production in the regions of Ukraine. The list of insurance companies actively working in this field and cooperating with the Agrarian Fund under the program of forward purchases of grain has been determined. The main criteria by which the insurance companies were selected are: open financial statements of insurers; transparency of business processes; experience in agricultural insurance; the main indicators of voluntary agricultural insurance companies. The work of the agricultural insurance market is analyzed and it is established that grain insurance contracts occupy a significant share in its overall structure. Among them, the leaders in terms of insurance are winter wheat and corn. It was found that winter wheat and winter rye insur-ance contracts account for the largest share of total payments on the grain market. Given that growing cereals is a very risky activity, and the natural and climatic conditions in recent years have sharply changed to a disadvantage for farm-ers, it is worth noting a very low level of payments under grain insurance contracts. The main problems that hinder the further development of agro-insurance have been identified and directions for their solution have been identified, in-cluding the use of innovations in the grain insurance system, such as robotics, precision agriculture and innovative insurance products.