Expanded Summary

A state innovative policy is an internal part of social-economic policy of the country–it determines the goals, the main directions and methods of state bodies functioning in innovative activity sphere. On the modern stage of development in USA potato-growing by viewpoint of innovative activity has been created such a mechanism which provides the successful  use of the newest achievements of technique and technologies, in general the results of local and international innovative activities, production of competitive output at the world market, acceleration of national  social-economic development and full satisfaction of ever-growing material and cultural requirements of society. In the innovative policy two parts are underlined: strategic and tactical. The realization of strategic party of innovative activity in USA potato-growing aims usually long run and comparatively large scale tasks and implies both the determination of mainstreams of state regulation  of innovative activity and selection of optimal methods  of rational use of scientific potential as well. The tactical part of state innovative policy is realized by such economic tendency as follows:

venture fluctuations of potato consumer demand structure, the development of transport and trade, storage and realization to improve a processing sector, an active penetration  of trade and industrial capital in agriculture, which are able to get high effective results.

By viewpoint of innovation  in USA potato growing has been formed a solid specialization at regional and separate farms level. Optimal natural conditions in several states  make it possible to produce high quality output with less expenditures. In USA a leading potato-growing state is Aidaho, producing  25%of the whole production of the country. 12% is produced in Washington state. 9% - in Main. Now 5 states (Aidaho, Washington, Main, California and New-York) produce 60% of the whole potato in the country. It is worth to note that the mentioned states have adequate natural conditions characterizing a certain peculiarities of potato for example, in Florida a qualitative potato  is growing in 3 regions of Hastings, in Main – in Arustic district, in Minessotta- in Red river Vally; in Michigan – in Emingsul district; in Aidaho –in ten districts of South-West: At present 55,5 thousand potato-farms are functioning. In these farms, potato is growing in the conditions of high agro-technique, on irrigating lands, using a huge amount of fertilizers. It is noted that everyfifth potato-farm is irrigating; the quantity of irrigation area is 56% of the whole potato area 99% of farms are using fertilizers.  (1217kg of dry and liquid fertilizers are used per hectare). Potato-growing here is developing at a rapid pace by means of increasing the concentration of production, resulting in the decrease of farm number. Potato production is concentrated in large farms. Specialized in mass standard production only in 1950-1989 potato farms decreased  by 30 times (1664 thousand to 55,4 thousand); average farm size doubled and was  9,3 ha. In this period, the number of farms in Aidaho decreased 4 times (12 thousand to 2,9 thousand). The average size of farms increased  8 times (4,9 to 38ha) The largest potato-growing farms are in California, (56ha).

At present potato-growing is one of the most innovative fields in USA plant-growing. It requires a lot of capital investment; purchase  and use of machinery, fertilizers, agricultural  chemicals, irrigation works etc. Average investment per hectare is gradually increasing at potato-growing areas and is  718 dollars, including cash  expenditure – 581 dollars. Very impressive are the studies done in 1993 by the University of Michigan in 30 potato-growing farms in Michigan. It was stated that in each farm average volume of capital was 349,5 thousand dollars; in large potato farms where potato-growing area was 101 ha the volume  of capital was 444 thousand dollars; farmer’s own capital was 87 of this amount. In the farm under study labor cost at average was 10,6 thousand  man-hour including 64% for hired labor cash costs accounted for 1/3 of the cost of working capital elements (planting materials, fertilizers, chemicals) and labor costs were 24%. In 2000-2015 some area of potatoes decreased from 37, 3 th. ha to 26,2 th. ha in Georgia. Potato production also decreased  to 302,9 th. tonnes;  in 2013 to 296,6 th. t; in 2015 – to 196 th. t.In former Soviet Union potato production per capita was 332kg at average. In Georgia it was 42,2kg per capita in 1980 in 1990 respectively 54kg: In 2015 _ 53 kg. Rational norm  of annualpotato consumption provides 92 kg.

According to research results it can be concluded that technological and non-technological innovative activity in Georgian potato-growing farms is less market. It is due to the problems that the country doesn’t  have a state project of science-based innovative and investment development of agriculture. This requires the necessary innovative environment to create  incentives on the one hand and lift barriers for firms in innovative activities of farms on the other hand. For innovative policy of ministry of agriculture of Georgia it is necessary to create technoparks or centre of processing and manufacturing of science-intensive production. It must help to create and develop small innovative  start-up firms; to create and realize new technologies, products and services, to attract investment both from regions, as well as from abroad.