Heliceculture as a promising area of agricultural production

Purpose. The aim of the article is research of theoretical, organizational and economic aspects of functioning and effective development of farms for growing and processing of snails and substantiation of prospects of heliceculture as a branch of agriculture on the basis of analysis of world experience.Methodology of research. In the course of the research the methods of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, abstraction) and empirical methods (observations, questionnaires, conversations) of economic science are used, which are based on a systematic approach, which allowed to characterize the current state of production and export of heliceculture products, as well as identify key issues in this area of agricultural production.Findings. The concept of “heliceculture” is substantiated and its content is analysed in terms of prospects as a new direction of agricultural production. The historical genesis of the development of traditions of snail products consumption has been studied, as a result of which the first mentions in the history of Ancient Rome, as well as France and Italy have been revealed. An analysis of the dynamics and current state of development of domestic heliculture entrepreneurship, which showed a rapid increase in the number of snail farms and increasing exports of snails to Europe.An overview of the world market for edible snails is made, where there is a noticeable tendency to a gradual annual increase in the consumption of heliculture products. The key elements of the technological process of growing edible snails are analysed, which allowed to systematize a number of basic technological processes and to conclude about the complexity and complexity of this production. The commodity assortment of heliculture has been determined, which includes meat, caviar and snail secretion.The key advantages of Ukraine as a producer and exporter of heliculture products are highlighted, including the availability of labour, proximity to markets, high land supply and dissatisfaction with global demand for these products, which makes it significant for the development of heliculture as an agricultural production. The key problems that hinder the development of snail farming are summarized, namely: legislative unregulation, limited industrial production capacity, lack of diversified processing, limited information and scientific research.The key directions of development of the heliceculture industry are determined, among which: organization of production and marketing heliceculture cooperatives, provision of in-depth processing and year-round uninterrupted production, development of agro-tourism on the basis of snail farms.Originality. A systematic approach to clarifying the definition of “heliceculture” is proposed. On the basis of a thorough study of official statistical information on the state of production of snail products, the importance of heliculture as a promising area of agricultural production is substantiated.Practical value. The obtained research results can be used in the development of an effective concept for the development of the heliculture industry.Key words: heliceculture, heliceculture market, snail farming, small business, family farm.