INNOVATIVE AND TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES IN UKRAINE: FROM MILITARY ADAPTATION TO DIGITALIZATION AND PRECISION FARMING

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive theoretical and empirical diagnosis of the current state, dynamics, and structure of innovative activity among Ukrainian agricultural enterprises amidst geopolitical, macroeconomic, and war-induced shocks. It is evident that innovation adoption has shifted from a tool for maximizing profits to a fundamental prerequisite for operational survival and long-term business resilience. The study examines Ukraine's positions in global innovation benchmarks (European Innovation Scoreboard, Global Innovation Index). It analyzes the financial structure of R&D expenditures, revealing an over-reliance on internal firm funds against the backdrop of stagnant R&D intensity below 0.38% of GDP. The catastrophic damage to the sector's capital stock is estimated at over $12.1 billion in direct agricultural losses and the destruction of over 130,000 machinery units. The structural aging of the machinery fleet is detailed—with 42–67% of combine harvesters and tractors exceeding 12 years of age—leading to disproportionate repair costs and a 20–28% drop in seasonal operational output. The study categorizes digital technology adoption across four maturity levels (RTK satellite navigation, NDVI satellite monitoring, Variable Rate Technology (VRT), and Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS)). The economic returns of drone-based land auditing and resource optimization are quantified, highlighting the prevalence of "patchwork digitalization." Key operational bottlenecks include declining EBITDA, GPS suppression via Electronic Warfare (EW), field contamination from unexploded ordnance, and severe shortages of skilled human capital. Finally, institutional and economic policy recommendations are formulated: promoting the Precision Agriculture as a Service (PAaaS) model, reorienting the "5-7-9%" preferential credit scheme toward technological modernization, unifying digital registries via open APIs, and establishing public-private educational-innovation clusters.