[Role of agricultural science in developing the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine: A report of the President of the Academy, UAAN acad. M.V. Zubets]

In the speech, presented at the Joint meeting of the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences (UAAN), dedicated to its 75th Anniversary, the activities of the UAAN in the course of these years are reviewed and it is stressed that since its founding at the beginning of the 30-ies years of the previous century till now the UAAN was always in the forefront of the original agricultural research, organizing and conducting scientific research on a wide circle of current problems of the agriculture as a whole. A brief excursion into the historical domain of the agrarian science of Ukraine, a bread basket of Europe, is made, the milestones in its history are noted. As early as 1917, in Ukraine there were 63 research establishments yet the majority of them was found in 1929-1932. The academy restored in 1990 after gaining independence by this country joined together the establishments of 14 ministries and departments and became a scientific, methodical and coordinating centre for tackling agrarian problems. Due to functioning of the UAAN restored in the conditions of economic instability which is believed to be already survived it has managed to save leading scientific schools, the main lines of research and the material and technical base of the agrarian science of Ukraine, to ensure the coordinated work of all scientific establishments. At present the UAAN joins 11 scientific national centres and 58 research institutes with their networks. The UAAN comprises nine objects with the status of the national scientific level which ensure functioning of the agro-industrial complex. Scientists of the UAAN work implementing 47 scientific-technical programmes the realization of which provides for the further intensification of the agrarian sector of the economy of Ukraine. The scientific schools of soil science, agrochemistry, farming, grain farming, plant breeding, animal husbandry, agricultural engineering, agricultural economy etc. and their achievements are mentioned in the speech. At present the main tasks of the UAAN are as follows: preserving and increasing the soil fertility, preventing from soil erosion, chemical and water land improvement, developing new fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and plant growth regulators, resource-saving and nature-protecting technologies of soil cultivation and growing farm crops etc. An acute need in intensifying biotechnological studies is noted.