STATE AGRARIAN REGISTER IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE FINANCIAL MECHANISM OF STATE SUPPORT FOR THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article examines the role of the State Agrarian Register in the transformation of the financial mechanism of state support for the agricultural sector of Ukraine in the context of adaptation to the European Union Common Agricultural Policy. The study is relevant due to the growing role of digital instruments in public support administration, the expansion of the State Agrarian Register as the main access channel to support programmes, and the need to align Ukrainian practices with CAP institutional requirements. The purpose of the article is to determine the institutional potential and functional limitations of the State Agrarian Register as a digital basis for administering, verifying and controlling state support. The methodological framework combines comparative analysis, institutional analysis and a scenario approach. The functional capabilities of the State Agrarian Register are compared with the key components of the Integrated Administration and Control System used in the EU member states. Special attention is paid to the relationship between digital verification of beneficiaries, reduction of information asymmetry, and the transition from unconditional support to a model of payments linked to compliance with verifiable requirements. The results show that the State Agrarian Register already plays an important role in identifying beneficiaries, simplifying access to support programmes and improving the operational efficiency of public fund distribution. At the same time, its current architecture remains insufficient for full-scale control over compliance with conditions after payments are granted. The system is effective where verification can rely on existing registries and basic geospatial data, but much weaker where monitoring requires seasonal land-use observation, confirmation of actual farming practices or post-payment behavioural control. It is substantiated that the further development of the State Agrarian Register should be considered not as an isolated technical upgrade, but as part of a broader institutional restructuring of the financial mechanism of state support. Three scenarios of transformation are distinguished: minimal, adaptive and strategic. The article concludes that the State Agrarian Register already acts as a key element of the digital infrastructure of state support for the agricultural sector of Ukraine and has the potential to become the core of a more transparent, controllable and result-oriented financial mechanism aligned with CAP principles.