The main objective of the paper is to investigate the economic essence of innovation, the peculiarities of their application in the agro-industrial sector, to determine the degree of innovation activity of agrarian enterprises and the role of innovations in the agrarian sector, to determine the most effective innovations in the AIS. The areas of the agro-industrial sector are as follows: 1) production of means of production, 2) raw materials, 3) processing sphere, 4) infrastructure of agro-industrial sector. The commodity structure of foreign trade is presented. Principles to be followed by the enterprise, that has begun an innovative way of development for receiving positive results in the form of profit and increase competitiveness and the efficiency of activity, are formulated as following: – balance of external and internal development opportunities and their adaptation to the needs of the enterprise; – operational adjustment of the management mechanism according to changes that have already occurred or are predictable; – independence in the exchange of resources between the elements of the production and sales system of the enterprise; between the enterprise and the surrounding environment. Areas and stages of enterprises are outlined, including the 4 areas: 1) operational activities, 2) financial activities, 3) investment activities, 4) innovative activities. The main factors of influence in AIS are described. Stimulating innovation will contribute to addressing a number of important macroeconomic issues. Thanks to innovations it is possible to achieve the state of food security of the country and to increase the profitability of enterprises. At present, three main groups of innovations in the agro-industrial sector can be distinguished, which will increase energy efficiency and autonomy of the industry: 1) innovations in the field of environmental management and resource conservation; 2) chemical-genetic innovations; 3) IT-technologies. In our opinion, it is necessary to strengthen state support for innovative development of the agro-industrial sector. Therefore, it is expedient to allocate funds to create high-efficient alternative sources of fuel; technologies of production of diagnostics of plant diseases. It is necessary to increase the share of know-how and technology acquisition agreements, exclusive proprietary rights to inventions, industrial designs and utility models. Own participation in the development will increase the AIS stability and the stability of economic development. 

innovation, agroinnovations, development of agro-industrial sector, innovative development, innovation activity in AIC, agro-industrial enterprise, innovation activity