Insufficient funding of science leads to losses of growth to 1% per year and makes it uncompetitive. This was stated by MP from the OPPOSITION BLOC Serhiy Lovochkin, commenting on the tabulation of the National Academy of Sciences of the outcome of 2016. According to him, the reluctance of the authorities to preserve the country’s scientific potential has led to the fact that the share of sold innovative products in the volume of industry of Ukraine decreased from 9.4% in 2000 to 1.4% in 2015.

“While in 2017 the budget of all the national academies of Sciences nominally increased, but the funding of science will not come, even to the level of 2013. If in 2013, the budget for science allocated for 0.33% of GDP, in 2017 - 0, 23% of GDP. It’s dry numbers but behind them, there are the scientists who have no means for effective work and a normal life, and because leaving abroad. Due to underfunding, the country loses up to 1% of GDP per year – only 20% of exports is high-tech products. And if fundamentally not to change the state policy in this matter, this figure will decrease every year,” Serhiy Lovochkin stated.

He added that due to such relation to science, we already lag behind countries in Africa. For example, Kenya has increased the cost of science from 0.36% of GDP in 2007 to 0.79% in 2010. In Ukraine, on the contrary, in recent years, funding for science systematically reduced — to 0.23% of GDP in 2016. “Developing countries are endeavoring from poverty and technological backwardness, and we, conversely, become low-tech country,” the Deputy stressed.

Serhiy Lovochkin cited data of the Ministry of Finance, for which the minimum requirements of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and branch academies of Sciences are funded only by 49.7%. As a result there is not enough money, not only in science, but also for utilities and salaries. On December 1, 2016, the wage arrears in the field of science amounted to UAH 126.7 mln. Salary in this area was not received by 7 thousand people.

“But even those wages that are paid, will not keep trained employees in the Ukrainian science. The average salary of employees of the NASU in 2016 was less than UAH 3 thousand. For example, Poles are creating special programs for our talented students. To change the situation, it is necessary to provide at least a minimum level of science funding from the budget – 0.5% of GDP. Without its own science Ukraine will never make an economic breakthrough,” the politician summed up.

We will remind, recently the President of the NAS of Ukraine academician Borys Paton has summarized the work of the NAS of Ukraine in 2016. He noted that the past year for the Ukrainian science was difficult, and the situation gets worse with every year.