Innovative strategies to minimize the risks of the rural population with regard to sheltered employment caused by the coronavirus pandemic and institutional constraints

The purpose of the article is to develop strategic directions for minimizing the risks of the rural population in the field of social and labor relations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research methods. The monographic approach was used for a comprehensive and in-depth study of ensuring the sustainability of the labor sphere and social protection of the population in extreme conditions and identifying the causal links of their development. The application of systematic and comprehensive analysis made it possible to work out strategic directions of increasing the economic capacity of united territorial communities, activating the market orientation of family farms, other micro- and small forms of entrepreneurship and institutionalization of sheltered employment in agriculture and non-agriculture. Normative and positive approaches have helped to determine the prospects for the quantitative transformation of private farms into family-type commodity enterprises by 2030. Due to the grouping, strategic priorities for ensuring productive employment of the rural population have been identified. The involvement of abstract-logical tools allowed to formulate intermediate and final conclusions and proposals for minimizing the socio-economic risks of agricultural employees in the context of the pandemic spread caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Research results. Scientific and other publications on ensuring the sustainability of social and labor relations and incomes of rural population in the context of the restrictions on economic activity spread, proposals for a radical change in the solidarity system of social protection, reduction of inequality in access to basic needs of socially vulnerable groups are covered. The genesis and development of “helicopter money” theories and guaranteed minimum income as fundamentally new post-industrial models of economic stimulation and social protection of the low-income groups, conditions of their application and possible macroeconomic consequences are considered. Priority areas for risk prevention in relation to productive and protected employment of agricultural workers are identified. These include the institutional capacity and resource adequacy of rural united territorial communities; systematic and long-term support of market activity of micro and small business entities; institutionalization of employment of family farms members and other forms of small business. Scientific novelty. Anti-covid-19 strategic directions of small business development and distribution of the obligatory state social insurance system on self-employed workers in personal peasant farms were further developed. Practical significance. Proposals for improving relations in the labor sphere of the agricultural sector and social protection of the rural population can be taken into account when developing strategic directions of support micro and small businesses and the self-employed in the extreme conditions of rural society. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 35.