This article explores the impact of digital platforms on agriculture and the role of platform cooperatives in this process. The authors reviewed current trends in the development of digital technologies in agriculture and the features of the functioning of digital platforms. Essential features of agricultural digital platforms have been identified. Classification of digital platforms in agriculture has been carried out. Platform cooperatives are seen as an alternative model of organization that is based on the principles of democracy, justice and solidarity. Comparing platform cooperatives to traditional digital platforms, the paper analyzes differences in ownership structure, governance, profit distribution, and data attitudes. A review of the literature on platform cooperation and solidarity economy was carried out. Differences in the types and forms of platform cooperation are analyzed. Cooperatives have been found to be controversial. In terms of harmonizing the interests of an individual member and the entire cooperative community; preserving cooperative nature and striving for expansion. It is shown that the main difference between platform capitalism and platform cooperatism is in the ownership and management of digital platforms, goals and participants. The former focuses on profit and private property, while the latter focuses on cooperation, equality and social responsibility. Bottlenecks of digital platform cooperation are considered. The role of cooperatives in achieving sustainable development goals is shown. The use of statistical data made it possible to show the scale of the use of platform models in the modern economy.
The paper is devoted to the peculiarities of territorial differentiation of the level of the shadow economy in agriculture in connection with the level of digitalization. When determining the scale of shadow activities, only legal entities (agricultural organizations) in the agricultural sector are taken into account. The study groups regions by means of hierarchical clustering and also using the k-means method. The authors form 5 clusters based on the level of development of shadow activities and digitalization of telephone communications. The survey analyses the relationship between the level of digitalization of local telephone communications in rural areas and the share of shadow activities in gross value added. While there is a general inverse relationship between the development of digitalization and shadow activities throughout the country, there are differences regionally. In the first, third and fourth clusters, an inverse relationship was identified between the share of shadow activities in GVA according to Section A of OKVED 2 and the level of digitalization of the local telephone network in rural areas. These clusters represent such large agricultural regions as Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Penza, Saratov, Tambov regions, Krasnodar, Stavropol and Perm territories, other regions and republics. In the second and fifth clusters, consisting mainly of regions of the Central Federal District, on the contrary, shadow activities and the level of digitalization show a direct connection. High and low levels of digitalization are accompanied by high and low levels of shadow agriculture. Among the regions in these clusters are Vladimir, Volgograd, Lipetsk, Oryol, Ryazan, Ulyanovsk, Chelyabinsk regions, other regions and republics.
At the present stage, the development and implementation of digital platforms in the agricultural sector of the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District is one of the main and defining directions of digitalization of agriculture and agriculture in this region, so in almost all subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District, digitalization of agriculture is not included in the Development Strategy for the coming years. There fore, it is precisely with the dominant role of the state, the gradual transfer of a number of public services to developing digital platforms, the gradual acquisition and in crease of agricultural producers' skills in working with digital services, that growth points are observed in this promising direction. The article examines the current situation in the region with operating public and various private digital platforms, their functions, advantages and disadvantages, analyzes the regulatory and legislative framework as the basis for digitalization of the agricultural sphere of the region, the costs of innovative products in dynamics over the past few years and in the context of the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District. The key points of growth and development of digitalization of the agricultural sphere of the region are identified. The work uses methods of generalization, logical and comparative analysis, empirical and logical scientific approaches to the study of on going processes. The research is based on scientific and analytical works of Russian scientists, materials from various analytical print and online publications. The article identifies the processes that stimulate the development of various digital platforms, ecosystems and sites, identifies areas in the field of state regulation for a comprehensive impact on accelerating the digitalization of the agro-industrial complex of the region, improving the management of agriculture in the region to increase its efficiency.
The article is devoted to the study of the formation of differential land rent on landplots suitable for the production of agricultural products in modern economic conditions of management in Russia. The conditions and causes of land rent, including differential rent, are formulated. The method of determining the differential land rentis described. Experimental calculations of differential landrents have been carried out in thirty-nine subjects that are part of the Non-Chernozem economic zone, the CentralChernozem, Volga and North Caucasian economic regions, which confirmed the basis for the formation of the market value of agricultural products at the level of marginal, rather than average production costs. Marginal costs in 2020 were identified on the productive lands of the Vologda region during the cultivation of a group of grain and leguminous crops and grain production. The normal rate of return on advanced production capital here was 13.4 percent. It has been established that differential landrent has a significant impacton the profitability of a commodity producer. Subjects with medium and high differential land rents cultivate land suitable for agricultural production as much as possible, unless other non-economic factors interfere with this. Lands that do not form a differential land rentor are unstable to its formation are partially with drawn from agricultural production. The main methods and risks of introducing unused productive lands in to agricultural circulation are formulated.
The article provides an overview of the experience of various scientists in building an organizational and economic mechanism for the development of farms. At the same time, each author pays attention to different aspects: the need for state support, cooperation between farms, taking into account the possibilities of reducing risks arising from the introduction and operation of digital technologies. The opinions of scientists regarding the definition of the concepts “economic mechanism” and “organizational-economic mechanism” are considered, and the author’s definition is proposed in relation to small-scale farms. The organizational and economic mechanism for the development of small-scale farms, currently operating in the Leningrad Region, is presented, consisting of seven elements that have their own level of development. To identify this level, methods of economic analysis of data from the Committee on the Agricultural and Fishery Complex of the Leningrad Region, as well as a survey of farmers, were used. Measures are proposed that allow for the digital transformation of small farms in the region by increasing the level of development of each element of the current organizational and economic mechanism. There is a lot of work to be done as the adoption of digital technologies is currently at an early stage. The implementation of the planned activities will speed up the process of innovative development of agriculture, increase food security in the region and make rural areas attractive for living. The development can be used to formulate a regional program for the digital transformation of small-scale farms both in the Leningrad region and, taking into account adaptation, in other regions.
The article is devoted to the study of the prospects of the tourism industry in the Zaporozhskaya region. A comprehensive systemic nature of the functioning of the modern sphere of recreational services is noted. The importance of studying the development of the tourism industry, taking into account the socio-economic, environmental and cultural characteristics of a particular region, is indicated. Attention is focused on the need to assess the degree of influence of internal and external factors on the process of developing this industry. Indicates the importance of studying the directions of the development of tourism business in the new regions of the Russian Federation. The article formulates strategic directions for the development of the sphere of recreational services at the regional level. Indicates the dominance of the resort direction in the tourism business. At the same time, the objects of "green tourism" in the region are not represented enough. There is a low level of intersectoral and inter -farm cooperation by small tourist forms. The need to stimulate representatives of family forms of agrarian production for participation in projects related to the development of "green tourism" is indicated. The article formulates the stages of using a dynamic model to analyze the impact of elements of the system of socio-economic relations of the Zaporozhye region on the functioning of the tourism business. The following co-chartic components of the model are characterized: demographic development, social development, environmental development, infrastructure development, economic development and investment and innovative development. According to the results of the study, the socio-economic significance of small forms of economic activity for the development of regional tourism is noted. Indicates the need for a profile regional program for stimulating the development of the industry. In this case, the importance of compliance with the systemic nature of the development of the tourist sphere is noted.
The aim of the work is to assess the dynamics and efficiency of the use of assets of agricultural holdings of the Russian Federation to clarify the change in the economic potential and the possibility of using the financial leverage by such entities. Based on a study of the indicators of a selected group of agricultural holdings, a positively stable trend in the cost growth of their assets was identified, both in nominal and real terms. During the period under study, the rate of cost growth of the assets under study in nominal terms exceeded the rate of inflation. This indicates the growth of the economic potential and capacity of agricultural holdings of the Russian Federation, which can be projected onto the entire agricultural sector with a certain level of error. A decrease in the growth rate of assets of the studied organizations in recent years was revealed. The reasons for this decline are considered: objective limited resources, the law of diminishing marginal efficiency of asset use, and a decrease in the marginal effectiveness of government financial support. Based on the results of the analysis of the dynamics of profit and return on assets of a selected group of agricultural holdings, we can conclude that the influence of combinations of different factors on the efficiency of using the assets under study in different periods of time was unstable. Among other things, the mechanisms of state financial support for both agricultural holdings and the agro-industrial complex as a whole were unstable in different years. Such support was and still remains a significant factor in the development of the industry, given the relatively low level of return on assets of the subjects under study. The value of return on assets of the studied group of agricultural holdings is assessed as low to obtain a positive effect of financial leverage for market conditions. In other words, the use of loans on market conditions by the average agricultural producer with the existing return on assets is characterized by a negative value of financial leverage. Considering that leading agricultural holdings were considered, the industry value of the indicator may be even lower. This level of efficiency in the use of assets in the agro-industrial complex currently makes the industry dependent on government subsidies of loan rates, and also makes it inappropriate for a significant increase in the assets of agricultural holdings without changing the level of their efficiency. The relatively low return on assets of the group of agricultural holdings under study and the high level of dependence on loans make the industry sensitive to changes in the key rate of the Bank of Russia, and, accordingly, inflation. As practice shows, such a rate is not stable and for a significant period of time it exceeded the value of the return on assets of the examined entities. Considering that state financial support cannot or should not increase in direct proportion to the growth of agricultural holdings’ assets, the relatively low level of return on assets, which does not allow scaling (using credit resources) on market conditions, should be considered as an objective and significant barrier to the further development of the industry. At the macro level, factors contributing to the development of the industry are: a decrease in inflation and, accordingly, a reduction in the key rate of the Bank of Russia, and at the micro level - targeting return on assets.
In the Russian Federation, the provision of the population with food products is growing, as evidenced by the increase in retail turnover of food products per capita in actual prices and in real terms. However, the diet of the Russian population remains unbalanced. In comparison with medical standards, the average citizen of Russia consumes an insufficient amount of dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, while the consumption of sugar and bread products significantly exceeds the valuesrecommended by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. Provision of the population of Russia with food products is mainly carried out by trade, which in modern conditions is developing its socio-economic role. Currently, one of the new roles of trade in providing the population with food has become a voluntary limitation of trade markups by most chain retailers on a number of socially important food products. At the same time, the applied limitation of trade markups on social food products could be more significant and become more widespread in the market with the participation of non-chain retailers. In this study, based on estimates of the price elasticity of demand for three products (chicken eggs, sunflower oil, sugar), it was shown that by further reducing trade markups of retail chain trade enterprises on socially important food products, it would be possible to increase the average per capita annual consumption of the corresponding products, including sugar by one kilogram, sunflower oil by 500 grams, chicken eggs by one piece. Another new role of trade in the system of providing the population with food products has become the improvement of the food market supply chain and efforts to reduce the number of links in the movement of goods. Currently, for a number of food products, there is an increase in the number of resales in the wholesale link, which causes an increase in consumer prices for food products due to the inclusion of numerous intermediaries in the price of trade markups. The study showed that the maximum reorientation of retail trade enterprises to direct business relations with producers, as well as the expansion of the network of wholesale food markets, can reduce the number of links in the movement of goods, which will also have a positive effect on the growth of food security for the population of the Russian Federation.
The article attempts to present a methodology for rating assessment of strategic prospects for increasing the innovation and investment attractiveness of regional agriculture on the basis of current regulations at the federal and regional levels. The study was carried out using data from the regions of the Siberian Federal District. The rating was based on processing data on the implementation of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for Agricultural Development 2017-2030, State Programs for Integrated Development of Rural Territories adopted and implemented in the constituent entities of the Federation, data from the State Varietal Commission and the Federal Institute of Industrial Property. Special indicators have been developed for each of the strategic areas of rating assessment. It is shown how the differentiation of the development of the regions of the Siberian Federal District is reflected in the intermediate and final ratings, which allows investors to see the prospects of the territory, the participation of the federal center and local authorities in its development. Previously, other authors, including rating agencies, had not used this approach when constructing a rating of subjects of the Federation, which allows assessing the prospects for the development of a region on the basis of existing documents.
The purpose of the study, the results of which are presented in this article, is to assess the contribution of agriculture to the socio–economic development of the agro-industrial center. The study was conducted on the example of the Republic of Mordovia. To achieve this goal, a system of indicators was formed reflecting the contribution of the industry to the gross regional product, the export potential of the regional economy, employment, the formation of monetary incomes of residents of the region, as well as the prospects for the development of the industry. The analysis allows us to state with full confidence that agriculture is a key sector of the economy of the Republic of Mordovia, and the role of this industry in ensuring the socio–economic development of this region has been increasing over the years. This conclusion is based on the revealed increase in the share of the industry in the gross regional product, improvement of the situation in the rural labor market, faster growth in wages for agricultural workers, increased efficiency and investment attractiveness of the industry, an increase in the share of industry products in the export structure. The main limitation in the development of agriculture and its contribution to the socio-economic development of the Republic of Mordovia today is the shortage of labor. Due to the imposed economic sanctions, there is a threat of increased depreciation of fixed assets and reduced productivity. The authors propose a set of measures to maintain high rates of agricultural development in the Republic of Mordovia, aimed at reducing dependence on imports, increasing production and sales, attracting and consolidating the population and specialists in rural areas, improving the training system for agriculture, solving the problem of labor shortage, etc.