The purpose of the article is to investigate efficiency of crediting to agrarian enterprises under conditions of the decreasing returns law and to substantiate methodological approaches to determining an optimal level of their credit provision. Research methods. Based on the dialectical method of cognition, the following methods were used: the monographic method (for systematizing the publications devoted to the problems of crediting to the agrarian sector); the graphic (for analysis of the branch structure of crediting agricultural formations); the sliding groupings (for estimating the interconnection of the intensity and efficiency of production at agricultural enterprises and their volume of crediting); the nonlinear correlation and regression analysis (for establishing the relationship between intensity of crop production and results of the branch functioning); the optimization modelling (for developing tools, which allow determining an optimal volume of credit); the abstract and logical (for theoretical generalizations and formulation of the conclusions). Research results. It was determined the reduction of an optimum level of the crop production intensity with the use of borrowed funds compared with an option of financing via their current assets only. At the same time under conditions of financing at the expenses both of its own and borrowed sources, an optimal level of production intensity is a fixed amount and does not depend on the ratio of shares of both sources of financing in its structure. Elements of the scientific novelty. Methodical approach to determining an optimal level of credit provision for operating expenses of agricultural enterprises was substantiated. Practical significance. Methodical tools that allow determining an optimal amount of attraction of loan capital, maximizes a profit of an agricultural enterprise under conditions of keeping optimal expenses, maximizing their profit, were offered. Tabl.: 2. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 18
credit; expenses; optimum of expenses; borrowed capital; profit; production intensity; financial leverage