This article examines the contribution of small agricultural enterprises to ensuring the country's food security. It concludes that their competitiveness must be enhanced by strengthening production and economic ties based on contractual agreements with processing, trading, and large agricultural enterprises. The article analyzes the historical domestic experience of contractual relations in agriculture, revealing the interconnectedness and mutual influence of contractual agreements and cooperation, as well as the crucial role of the state in ensuring their development. It emphasizes that contractual agreements in the agro-industrial complex are no less important for the development of small enterprises than consumer cooperation. Recommendations are provided for incorporating domestic experience into the current practice of developing contractual relations, which will help avoid potential miscalculations when restoring the contractual system under new conditions.
Alevtina Nikolaevna Adukova (2025) studied this question.