ISSN 2221-1055 · e-ISSN 2413-2322

Ekonomika APK

— — —

Optimisation of farm production based on statistical data and environmental constraints

,

yunkova.olena@kneu.edu.ua

Received: 24.11.2025 Revised: 26.02.2026 Accepted: 21.04.2026 Published: 30.04.2026
Abstract

Limited land, labour, feed, and financial resources determine the production structure of farms, while increasingly stringent sustainability requirements require economic efficiency to be balanced with the rational use of natural resources. The study aimed to substantiate an optimal production programme for a mixed farm using economic and mathematical modelling that accounts for economic, resource, technological, and environmental constraints. The information base was developed using official statistical data for 2024-2025. A mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model implemented in R was used to optimise the production structure. The model incorporated constraints on land, labour, feed, and financial resources, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, livestock density, soil organic matter balance, and water use. Scenario analysis was applied to assess the effects of additional requirements. Under the baseline scenario, the optimal plan included 32 head of cattle, 1.18 t of poultry, 9.84 ha of berries for wholesale sales, and 10.00 ha for retail sales, generating a contribution margin of UAH 3,001.94 thousand. Environmental constraints reduced the number of cattle to 28 head and increased poultry production to 5.63 t, while berry production areas changed only slightly. The water constraint resulted in a reduction in the area allocated to berry production and a change in the livestock structure. The combined application of environmental and water constraints produced the most substantial structural adaptation and reduced the contribution margin by 16.60% compared with the baseline scenario. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using the model to substantiate farm production programmes and assess their adaptation to changes in resource and environmental conditions

Keywords
mixed farming; economic and mathematical modelling; production optimisation; linear programming; resource efficiency; environmental criteria; sustainable agriculture
Details
DOI https://doi.org/10.32317/ekon.apk/2.2026.40
Pages 40-50
  1. Ababneh, S., An-Vo, D.-A., Gillies, M., Kouadio, L., Mushtaq, S., & Scobie, M. (2026). Maximising the economic value of water through adaptive, climate-informed irrigation scheduling. PLOS Climate, 5(7), article number e0000696. doi: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000696.
  2. Benini, M., Detti, P., & Nerozzi, L. (2025). Optimization models and algorithms for sustainable crop planning and rotation: An arc flow formulation and a column generation approach. Omega, 135, article number 103320. doi: 10.1016/j.omega.2025.103320.
  3. Borysenko, V., & Borysenko, D. (2024). Optimisation of production and modelling of production costs in farms. Ekonomika APK, 31(1), 10-18. doi: 10.32317/2221-1055.202401010.
  4. De Keyser, E., Rowe, T., Giacomella, L., Jasiński, D., Mathijs, E., & Vranken, L. (2024). Combining life-cycle assessment and linear programming to optimize social fertilizer costs. Journal of Environmental Management, 369, article number 122225. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122225.
  5. European Commission. (2023). Conditionality. Retrieved from https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/income-support/conditionality_en.
  6. European Parliament, Council of the European Union. (2021). Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2115/oj.
  7. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (n.d.a). GLEAM Data Explorer. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/gleam/tools-and-data/en.
  8. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (n.d.b). LEAP guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/partnerships/leap/resources/publications/fao-leap-guidelines/en.
  9. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2025). AQUASTAT Dissemination System. Retrieved from https://data.apps.fao.org/aquastat/.
  10. Geissler, C.H., Haan, N.L., Basso, B., Fowler, A., Landis, D.A., Lark, T.J., & Maravelias, C.T. (2025). A multi-objective optimization model for cropland design considering profit, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Ecological Modelling, 500, article number 110954. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2024.110954.
  11. Gong, Y., Bellingeri, A., Fumagalli, F., Sechi, G.S., Atzori, A.S., Masoero, F., Gallo, A., & Cabrera, V.E. (2025). A mixed integer linear programming framework for mitigating enteric methane emissions on dairy farms through optimized crop and diet planning. Journal of Cleaner Production, 511, article number 145636. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145636.
  12. Hutorov, A., & Hutorova, O. (2024). Economic and mathematical models for rational sizes of agricultural enterprises determination. Modelling the Development of the Economic Systems, 3, 193-201. doi: 10.31891/mdes/2024-13-27.
  13. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2019). Forest land. In E. Calvo Buendia, K. Tanabe, A. Krajc, J. Baasansuren, M. Fukuda, S. Ngarize, A. Osako, Y. Pyrozhenko, P. Shermanau & S. Federici (Eds.). 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Volume 4. Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (pp. 4.1-4.70). Geneva: IPCC.
  14. Javanmardan, A., Golpîra, H., & Baradaran, V. (2024). A socio-economic and quality-oriented optimal fruit supply chain network design in a multi-market and multi-product environment: A real case study. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 94, article number 101910. doi: 10.1016/j.seps.2024.101910.
  15. Kik, M.C., Claassen, G.D.H., Meuwissen, M.P.M., Ros, G.H., Smit, A.B., & Saatkamp, H.W. (2024). FARManalytics – a bio-economic model to optimize the economic value of sustainable soil management on arable farms. European Journal of Agronomy, 157, article number 127192. doi: 10.1016/j.eja.2024.127192.
  16. López-Flores, F.J., Cervantes-Gaxiola, M.E., Hernández-Calderón, O.M., Ponce-Ortega, J.M., Ortiz-del-Castillo, J.R., & Rubio-Castro, E. (2025). Comprehensive crop allocation model: Balancing profitability, environmental impact, and occupational health. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 194, article number 108996. doi: 10.1016/j.compchemeng.2024.108996.
  17. Lomte, G.C., & Dhavale, S.R. (2022). Optimization techniques in agriculture sector. International Journal of Physics and Mathematics, 4(1), 47-49. https://www.doi.org/10.33545/26648636.2022.v4.i1a.53.
  18. Main Department of Statistics in Kyiv Region. (2025). Statistical information on agriculture in Kyiv region. Retrieved from http://kyivobl.ukrstat.gov.ua/p.php3?c=1127&lang=1.
  19. Moulogianni, C. (2022). Comparison of selected mathematical programming models used for sustainable land and farm management. Land, 11(8), article number 1293. doi: 10.3390/land11081293.
  20. Muleke, A., et al. (2022). Whole farm planning raises profit despite burgeoning climate crisis. Scientific Reports, 12, article number 17188. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-20896-z.
  21. Nuzhna, S.A., & Samarets, N.M. (2018). Optimization of use of manufacturing resources by enterprises of the agricultural sector. Economic Analysis, 28(4), 225-234. doi: 10.35774/econa2018.04.225.
  22. Radzievska, O., & Kovalska, I. (2024). Mathematical model of optimal planning of the production process. Mathematical and Computer Modelling. Series: Physical and Mathematical Sciences, 25, 134-139. doi: 10.32626/2308-5878.2024-25.134-139.
  23. Reyna-Ramírez, C.A., Fuentes-Ponce, M., Rossing, W.A.H., Groot, J.C.J., & López-Ridaura, S. (2025). Experimentation and model-based re-design for sustainable intensification of mixed crop-livestock smallholder farms in the Mixteca-Oaxaqueña region, Mexico. Agricultural Systems, 224, article number 104220. doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104220.
  24. Rosa, A.G., Azevedo, P.H.F., Celestino, V.R.R., & dos Reis, S.A. (2025). An analytical approach to optimizing sustainable farm operations through linear reformulation. Decision Analytics Journal, 17, article number 100632. doi: 10.1016/j.dajour.2025.100632.
  25. Skrynkovskyy, R., Pavlenchyk, N., Tsyuh, S., Zanevskyy, I., & Pavlenchyk, A. (2022). Economic-mathematical model of enterprise profit maximization in the system of sustainable development values. Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, 8(4), 188-214. doi: 10.51599/are.2022.08.04.09.
  26. Starikov, O.Yu., Mokrytska, D.Yu., & Musiienko, I.V. (2024). Technological aspects of optimizing the structure of sown areas of an agricultural enterprise. Strategy of Economic Development of Ukraine, 55, 174-188. doi: 10.33111/sedu.2024.55.174.188.
  27. State Statistics Service of Ukraine. (2025). Agricultural products sales by enterprises and households. Retrieved from https://stat.gov.ua/uk/datasets/realizatsiya-produktsiyi-silskoho-hospodarstva-pidpryyemstvamy-ta-hospodarstvamy.
  28. Vittis, Y., Gadanakis, Y., & Mortimer, S. (2021). Optimising the spatial and production input features to improve efficiency of hill farm production systems. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, article number 730614. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.730614.
  29. Zhmudenko, V., & Lishchuk, R. (2021). Optimization of resource potential as a strategic direction of enterprise development. Economic Space, 165, 70-75. doi: 10.32782/2224-6282/165-12.
  30. Zuniga Vazquez, D.A., Fan, N., Teegerstrom, T., Seavert, C., Summers, H.M., Sproul, E., & Quinn, J.C. (2021). Optimal production planning and machinery scheduling for semi-arid farms. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 187, article number 106288. doi: 10.1016/j.compag.2021.106288.
Aleksiiev, O., & Yunkova, O. (2026). Optimisation of farm production based on statistical data and environmental constraints. Ekonomika APK, 33(2), 40-50. https://doi.org/10.32317/ekon.apk/2.2026.40