June 10 2003, 17:34 APK-Inform

45 pc of active rural population in Ukraine is unemployed

45 percent of active population in rural areas of Ukraine is unemployed, Vice Director of the Project "Institute for Rural Development" Olexandr Tsepko has told today the participants of round-table meeting "The Problems and Prospects for Development of Rural Entrepreneurship".

The main cause of the situation is the highly unfavourable conditions for development of entrepreneurship in Ukrainian village, Tsepko said.

"In particular, it is absence with rural inhabitants of the initial capital to start own business, shortage or absence of market information (about sales markets, market prices), social insecurity of private entrepreneurs", he said.

Commercial banks are not eager to provide small credits (1,000 to 2,000 hryvnias) to representatives of small rural business. Besides, their interest rates - more than 20 percent - remain too high to be born by a beginner rural entrepreneur.

"People now have low faith in their possibilities. Also, they are nor well aware of peculiarities of running own business. Therefore, it is necessary to provide relevant consultations and trainings for beginner rural entrepreneurs", Tsepko says.

The Project "Institute for Rural Development" acts within the framework of the Programme for Raising Living Standard of Rural Population in Ukraine, which has been realised by Great Britain's Department for International Development since November 2001.