FARMS’ MATERIAL AND TECHNICAL BASE FORMATION

Abstract

Abstract. Problem. Machine-tractor fleet (MTF) is an important component of the resource base of agricultural enterprises, which provides mechanization of production processes and largely determines the level of productivity and efficiency of production activities. Modern economic conditions are characterized with a reduction in the number of basic equipment’s types, a high level of physical and moral wear and tear of MTF, resulting in increased load on agricultural machinery, increased duration of mechanized work. The share of material costs in the structure of production costs reached 70%, more than half of which are the costs of operating the machine-tractor fleet. At the same time, in recent years the demand for agricultural products has been increasing, which cannot be met without using modern technologies and modern equipment. However, the effectiveness of equipment’s updating and usage, in modern conditions, is also influenced with such factors as the lack of a scientific approach to planning and organizing the usage of agricultural enterprises’ technical means. When solving problems of increasing the level of usage and loading equipment, and also strategic planning, are almost not used the methods of mathematical modeling. The above-indicated determines the need to search the scientifically reasonable approaches for ensuring the appropriate level of technical support and rational usage of technical resources by agricultural enterprises. The purpose of the research is to deepen the theoretical and methodological foundations and develop practical recommendations for organizational and economic measures to ensure the effective usage of machine and tractor fleet by agricultural enterprises. Methods. During the research process were used the monographic method and a method of the theoretical analysis. Methods of analysis and synthesis were also used. The method of generalization was used in the process of forming conclusions based on the research’s results. Results. We consider that from the numerous lists of indicators which characterize the efficiency of the farms’ machinetractor fleet, it is advisable to use such following: the utilization rate of tractors; coefficient of readiness of tractors; average annual output of the tractor fleet of the mechanized unit, conditional reference hectares; operating costs, thousand UAH per one reference tractor. The effectiveness of the agricultural machinery usage is formed under the influence of a number of factors: climatic, technical and economic, organizational and managerial factors of the macro environment of agricultural formations, purposeful influence on the system which will allow realizing reserves of MTF productivity growth in specific conditions.  Scientific originality. The factors’ classification of efficiency usage of farms’ machine-tractor fleet, which were united in the following groups, was offered: organizational-production (natural-climatic, technical-economic, organi-zational-administrative) and external factors of macro environment; their maintenance and interrelation were disclosed; directions of influence on usage efficiency were substantiated, which will allow to timely detect the trends in their change and purposefully management of them. The essence of "machine-tractor fleet" concept from the standpoint of ensuring the optimal term of technological processes was specified. Conclusions. The efficiency of the machine-tractor fleet’s usage, as an economic category, characterizes its ability to provide the productivity growth of social work in agriculture. Because of the machine-tractor fleet belongs to the subsystem of auxiliary production of agricultural enterprise, we believe, that the criteria of MTF’s effectiveness is to fulfill the needs of crop and livestock industries in mechanized work with minimal costs for optimal agronomic works.