BIOFUELS FROM ALGAE AS A DIRECTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE «GREEN» ECONOMY: THE CURRENT STATE AND PROSPECTS

The article describes environmental aspects of the impact of traditional energy sources on the environment. It is substantiated that energy needs and environmental problems lead to the search for alternative renewable fuels. A comparative analysis of the structure of general supply between traditional and alternative energy sources is done. The current state of production and use of traditional fuels and prospects for the production of biofuels in Ukraine are analyzed. The projected structure of the use of traditional and alternative fuels according to the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035 «Safety, energy efficiency, competitiveness» is presented. The classification of biofuels is provided depending on raw materials: first, second and third generation. Unlike biofuels from crops such as sugar cane and corn (first-generation biofuels), as well as animal and vegetable wastes (second-generation), algae-derived fuels (third-generation biofuels) have many benefits. In particular, this is a greater potential for biofuel production compared to previous systems: a variety of possible fuels (biodiesel, bioethanol, biobutanol, biogas and even jet fuel); flexible production technologies. Algae cultivation technologies have been studied: especially cultivation in open reservoirs or in more advanced closed ponds and bioreactors. It is substantiated that algae are most often used for biodiesel production; a comparison of different technologies for its production is made. The foreign experience of algae biofuel production and its usage by various automobile companies and enterprises, as well as the prospects of algae biofuel production in Ukraine are presented. Despite the prospects for the production of the third-generation biofuels, there we think, that the issue of investigation has been not been studied properly by scientists and Ukrainian producers don’t have basic knowledge.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUAL FORM OF TRAINING OF HIGHER EDUCATION GRADUATORS ON THE BASIS OF THE ALL-UKRAINIAN SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL CONSORTIUM

The current state of the higher education system in Ukraine is studied on the example of higher education institutions (HEIs). It is established that the effectiveness of the educational process is manifested in the level of training of a highly qualified specialist, who is competitive in the labor market. The dynamics of the number of applicants for higher education in Ukraine and the unemployment rate is analyzed; the relationship between these indicators is established. The main reasons for the mismatch of the level of educational services of educational institutions to the needs of employers are determined, which are due to inadequate funding of the education system, and, as a consequence, the low level of knowledge of graduates, which does not meet the real needs of today. It is established that the main reason for underfunding of the education system is the dominance of local budgets in expenditures for the needs of educators and lack of funds for implementation of educational programs, as well as non-fulfillment in full of state obligations in this area as a whole. The essence and features of the dual form of education are revealed, the substantive difference between traditional and dual forms of education is reflected, which consists in the fact that they have completely different planes of common interests. The relevance of the latter is substantiated taking into account current trends in the labor market and the adaptation of the domestic education system to the requirements of the European Union. The expediency of introducing dual education in the Free Economic Zone as a form of cooperation between educational and scientific institutions, production and business, and also an integral part of the formation of a highly qualified specialist, is substantiated. The main mutual benefits of the participants of the dual form of education and the forms of their participation in the educational process are listed. The effectiveness of the dual form of higher education has been proved on the example of Vinnytsia National Agrarian University, which is a co-founder of the All-Ukrainian Scientific-Educational Consortium. The importance of the principle of student-centeredness as a key factor in the effectiveness of the education system as a whole is substantiated.

IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF AGRI-FOOD PRODUCTS IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION PROCESSES

The article examines the essence and significance of the quality management system in the process of ensuring the quality and safety of agri-food products, considers the main aspects and prerequisites for its introduction on Ukrainian enterprises in the context of the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. The legal and regulatory documents governing the safety of agri-food products, the level of their harmonization in Ukraine and implementation by Ukrainian operators of the agri-food market are analyzed. It was revealed that mainly large enterprises are currently implementing a quality management system, which is primarily associated with additional costs for its implementation. Attention is focused on the necessity to comply with the requirements of ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, ISO 22000 Food Safety Management Systems, as well as the principles of the International System for Hazard Analysis and Control at Critical Points of HACCP to increase the competitiveness of agricultural and food products in the domestic and foreign markets and ensure it sustainable quality. The basic requirements of food product standards have been introduced. The dynamics of the development of certification processes at Ukrainian enterprises is traced, in particular, by the number of received quality certificates of the ISO group in Ukraine. General economic and specific reasons that hinder the growth of the quality and safety of agrі-food products at Ukrainian enterprises were identified, including: low level of technological equipment and slow development of innovative processes; imperfection of the domestic regulatory framework in the field of product quality regulation; significant price disparity and the presence of a large number of intermediaries in the chain from the producer of raw materials to the customer etc. A quality management system is proposed, which is a socio-ecological and economic system and combines a well-coordinated interaction of various types of quality management subsystems.

THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRATED CITY DEVELOPMENT: EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE AND POSSIBILITIES OF ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN UKRAINE

The authors investigate that the leading form of territorial and socio-economic organization of modern society are cities. At the same time, cities act as drivers of socio-economic development, political prosperity and social progress and will undoubtedly be important for the formation of competitiveness in the world. It is established that one of the documents, which was developed with the participation of representatives of common European interests and promotes to integrated urban development, is the Leipzig Charter «Cities of Europe on the path to sustainable development». The practice of participatory management helps integrated urban development. Participatory management becomes relevant in the context of decentralization and community development, in particular participatory budgeting, which is the opportunity for city residents to participate in decision-making on how to allocate a certain part of the budget. It is analysed, that plenty of international indexes is for the quantitative and quality estimation of development of cities, that allow to explore tendencies and estimate influence of political decisions and steps that is accepted within the limits of cities for the improvement of welfare of habitants. A category ‒ «Smart City» is investigated. It is set that in rating of Smart Cities Index the first places occupy New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Reykjavik. Among the terms of development of the integrated cities on the basis of conception of «Smart City» the following is highlighted: introduction of networks of generation 5G, continuous coverage of territories and access to the internet in difficult of access places, trouble-free simultaneous work in the network of enormous number of devices. A collaboration and partnership with European societies and organizations help the Ukrainian cities in their integrated development. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study has become the scientific works of Ukrainian and foreign authors on integrated urban development based on European experience and guidelines and provisions of the European Union.

GLOBAL MARKET OF INTELLIGENT INVESTMENTS: EXPERIENCE FOR UKRAINE

The article deals with the meaning of the concept of «intellectual investment». It was found that this economic category is quite diverse and most foreign and domestic scientists give only a general definition. Based on the studied approaches to understanding the essence of intellectual investment, the authors provide their own interpretation of this economic category. So, intellectual investment is any investment in intangible assets: training and retraining, research and development, transfer of know-how, creation of innovative products for additional economic benefits. A number of features that distinguish investments in intellectual capital from other types of investments are identified and attention is paid to approaches to the classification of types of intellectual investments. It is established that the leading countries in the implementation of intellectual investment in 2020 are China, the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, and the trend of increasing the share of spending on innovation is observed in such regions as Asia and the Middle East, respectively. The place of the countries in the ranking of the Global Innovation Index, which is headed by Switzerland, Sweden and the United States, followed by Great Britain and the Netherlands, is described. The level of development of intellectual investments in Ukraine in terms of financing of innovation activities during 2016-2020, as well as in terms of receipt of applications for industrial property in Ukraine and the world is analyzed. The main negative factors that hinder the development of intellectual investment in Ukraine are assessed, and on the basis of world experience the effects that can be obtained as a result of investing in intellectual capital at different economic levels are highlighted. Due to the fact that Ukraine is losing its authority and attractiveness in the field of invention in the international arena, it is proposed to create a clear program to attract investment in intellectual capital, increase the share of budget funds for development and implementation of innovations, introduce programs to encourage the return of scientists. who previously emigrated.

STATE LAND BANK: HISTORY OF CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE AND THE WORLD

The article presents retrospective analysis of the creation and development of the State Land Bank in Ukraine. It is substantiated that for the effective functioning of the land market, among other components, the functioning of proper infrastructure and system of state control is necessary, when the State Land Bank or other specialized state institution plays an important role and performs the functions of the market regulator and land manager. Study of the peculiarities of the functioning of mortgage lending systems at foreign countries and the possibility of applying foreign experience for the development of mortgage relations in agriculture of Ukraine are conducted. The perfect infrastructure of the mortgage and credit market ensures high efficiency of mortgage relations. It is identified that important elements of the infrastructure of the mortgage market in many countries are: land cadastre and centralized credit bureau with access of banks to their information in real time, centralized real estate database; stock exchanges, clearing centers and the clearing system of the central bank, specialized banks and structures (corporations, funds, management), state trust guarantee funds. In today's conditions, when Ukrainian agricultural producers use land on lease, the expediency of creating the appropriate state institutions, including the establishment of the State Land (Mortgage) Bank, is growing. Its functioning will promote to: the development of mortgages on agricultural land; improve the conditions of medium- and long-term lending secured by land to meet the needs of agricultural producers and the population living in rural areas; expand the possibilities of agricultural production; provide regulation of the pricing process for land plots; ensure the effective operation of the land redistribution mechanism; will help attract investment in agriculture and additional investments in land to maintain its fertility, etc.

PROSPECTS OF BIOLFUELS PRODUCTION IN THE CONDITIONS OF LAND RELATIONS REFORM

The article examines the normative monetary valuation of agricultural land in the regions of Ukraine. The dynamics of change of sown areas of the main agricultural crops is analyzed. The directions of the development of agricultural production in the short term are determined. The main components of biomass energy potential in Ukraine are studied – agricultural residues (straw of cereals and rapeseed, by-products of corn and sunflower production) and energy crops (willow, poplar, miscanthus for solid biofuels and corn silage for production). It is determined that in the structure of energy production from biomass in Ukraine, agricultural residues and energy crops occupy the last places, as their potential is used by 0.1-3.0% depending on the type of biomass. The necessity of creating of energy cooperatives in rural areas focused on the production of solid biofuels from crop waste has been proved. The prospects for the development of bioenergy outlined in the «Roadmap for the development of bioenergy until 2050 and the Аction plan until 2025» are studied and the forecast of the development of the energy potential of biomass is made. It is determined that despite a significant number of existing regulations related to the development of biofuels, measures to support biofuel producers include only two instruments: a «green» tariff for electricity produced from renewable energy sources (including biomass / biogas), and stimulating tariff for thermal energy, produced from alternative energy sources (including biomass / biogas). Barriers to the development of biofuels production and possible ways to overcome them have been studied. The need to create bioenergy clusters to stimulate the production of biofuels has been identified. Measures to improve state regulation and support the production of biofuels are summarized. It is proved that at the state level it is necessary to constantly motivate agricultural producers to produce different types of biofuels. The main directions of the strategy of biofuel production development in the conditions of land relations reform are substantiated.

PROBLEMS OF FINANCING OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION ACTIVITIES IN UKRAINE

The article analyzes the current state of financial support for socially oriented extension services in Ukraine in order to identify the obstacles to stability and regularity of its implementation. It has been established on the basis of statistical data, that the financing of such activities from the state budget has a downward trend. Its volumes are tens of thousands of times less than similar budgetary expenditures in post-socialist countries that are currently EU members. The results of a survey of representatives of consulting services showed that the reason for the low activity of the registered agricultural extension services in the implementation of state programs to support agricultural producers and, accordingly, the incomplete development of the allocated funds are the scarcity, unpredictability and instability of state support for agricultural extension activities, the weakness of the coherence between themselves of the state programs, aimed at the development of the agricultural sector of economy. There is also a lack of understanding of the importance of agricultural extension by local government representatives. It is proved that conservatism in the introduction of innovations by owners of small farms, low level of awareness of agricultural extension, significant distance of advisory centers from potential customers, low income of the rural population minimize their ability to pay for commercial advisory services. It is established that financial and organizational difficulties have a significant negative impact on the psychological aspects of counseling. Advisors declare a lack of faith in their own strength. The results of the study allow us to assert that the formation of stable, simple and clear rules for long term state financing of agricultural extension activities and the absolute abidance of such rules by state institutions will help to increase the sustainability of financial support for agricultural extension activities in Ukraine.

THE ORETICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF APPLICATION OF FINANCIAL GUARANTEES FOR TRANSIT FOREIGN ECONOMIC OPERATIONS

The article substantiates the need to use methods to ensure payment of customs duties, including financial guarantees. It is proved that financial guarantees are a method of ensuring the fulfillment of customs obligations in violation of the conditions for granting tax exemptions, including in the customs regime of «transit». The volumes of transit through the customs territory of Ukraine from the EU countries for 2014-2020 are analyzed. The essence and signs of transit foreign economic operations are determined. Cases are described in which transit will be considered as interrupted transit (hidden import). Statistical data are presented, which show that a significant share of transit operations are recognized by the customs authorities of Ukraine as interrupted transit. The volumes of provided financial guarantees are investigated. The tasks performed by ensuring the payment of customs duties through the use of financial guarantees under the customs regime of transit have been established. The types and forms of financial guarantees are determined depending on the method of movement of goods and commercial vehicles in the customs regime «transit» (transit, internal transit, joint transit, cabotage transit). The monetary pledge is described, as well as the guarantee document in written or electronic form. The peculiarities of the use of cash collateral are outlined. The order of registration of the documents provided at application of financial guarantees on transit foreign economic operations is opened. The conditions for providing financial guarantees by type (individual, multiple, general) are clarified. The cases in which the Customer is sent a request for payment of customs duties are described. There are formulas for calculating customs debt and penalties in case of non-payment of customs duties by the guarantor. The latest changes in the legal field that have a positiv