The article proposes a methodological approach to substantiate the regulatory needs of the crop industry in the region in key types of agricultural machinery, based on the systematization of tasks for rationing needs and performing certain stages, involving the development and adjustment of target indicators of the system of strategic planning documents (strategies and concepts, forecasts and programs) in terms of technical modernization of the agricultural sectors of the region. The proposed approach takes into account various technologies of crop cultivation, the natural and economic conditions of individual agricultural zones, and assumes the use of high-tech agricultural machinery of a new generation. The article documents that the methodological basis for determining the need for modern agricultural machinery continues to be the system of norms and regulations, which, in the context of the emerging trend of modernization of the agricultural machinery fleet, requires timely adjustments and updates. The normative need for the main types of agricultural machinery for agricultural producers of the Rostov region has been determined. An assessment of the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the machine and tractor fleet of the agricultural sector of the region is given. The trends of material and technical modernization of the industry are revealed. The correction coefficients for determining the regulatory need for agricultural machinery of a new generation for agricultural producers of the Rostov region, taking into account the technologies used and the available arable land, are scientifically substantiated. A forecast of the needs of agricultural producers in the region for the main types of agricultural machinery in the crop production industry has been developed. The indicators of the regional State Program in terms of technical modernization of agricultural production in small forms of management with a real need for agribusiness have been set, indicating the need for their adjustment to strengthen the trends of material and technical modernization of the industry.
The example of the Kemerovo region of Kuzbass demonstrates that it is impossible to completely solve the personnel problem of the industrial region’s agro-industrial complex due to rural youth. In rural areas, at present, due to the narrowed type of population reproduction and the current conditions of training in the secondary general education system, there are insufficient opportunities to replenish personnel for the agricultural sector. The agro-industrial complex of industrial regions needs highly qualified personnel, therefore it is extremely important to consider not only rural, but also urban schoolchildren as a resource for the agricultural sector. For the study, a sociological survey was conducted among schoolchildren in grades 10-11 from five settlements in the Kemerovo region – Kuzbass, four of which are cities and one is an urban-type settlement. The purpose of the survey is to study the preferences of high school students in choosing a further direction of study. According to the survey results, it was established that continuing education at an agricultural university is the first priority for a small number of Kuzbass schoolchildren, while from 5.8% to 28.6% are considering this option along with other alternatives, and a third of respondents were undecided at the time of the survey. The data obtained indicate that urban schoolchildren can become a resource for the formation of human capital in the industrial region’s agro-industrial complex, but it is necessary to meet certain conditions.
The changes that are currently taking place in our country, including in the agricultural sector of the economy, actualize the importance of not only professional, but also personal development of agricultural workers. In this regard, there is a rethinking of the meaning of value-semantic components in the system of professional competencies of agricultural workers. The self-improvement of a worker in the course of professional activity consists in the formation of professional competencies that are based on knowledge, skills and abilities. At the same time, the personality of a specialist develops due to a system of life values and meanings that are the basis of effective work. The methodological basis is the sociological study «The meanings and values of the well-being of the rural population of the Saratov region and the possibilities of achieving life goals», conducted by the by the IAgP RAS in 2023. To diagnose value-semantic orientations, the S. Schwartz questionnaire («Value Survey»), adapted for residents of rural Russia, was used. Based on the empirical results obtained, two groups of qualified agricultural workers with different levels of need for the development of professional competencies were identified, and the content and structural components of their value and semantic orientations were analyzed and compared. As a result of the study, it was established what value orientations and life meanings are characteristic of qualified workers with varying degrees of expressiveness of the desire to professionally improve themselves in the process of work. Value-semantic orientations, the level of development of which determines the attitude of workers in the agricultural sector to the nature, direction, and final results of work activity, makes it possible to identify a person’s attitude to professional activity as the most important part of life. The results obtained during the study contribute to the perception, dissemination and further strengthening of the value and semantic guidelines of agricultural workers in the system of professional competencies in accordance with modern socio-economic conditions.
The article is devoted to one of the most important problems in the agricultural sector of the country's economy – the improvement of innovation infrastructure in the face of sanctions pressure. The necessity of structural qualitative changes in the organizational and economic mechanism, the regulatory framework, the instruments of investment activity and the information system is substantiated. It is noted that in modern conditions, the issues of the genesis of the economic category "infrastructure" remain very relevant, since it has not been studied in scientific works on classical economic theory and has not been considered as an independent object of research, which requires further comprehensive research in aspects of methodology and practice. It is shown that in countries with developed economies, innovation infrastructure is the object of increased attention from the state, which is explained by the public nature of the use of services provided by it and lower values of the main indicators of innovative attractiveness in the agricultural sector. The main elements of innovation infrastructure in the agricultural sector of the economy are systematized: scientific and technological, institutional, financial, innovation transfer, information and personnel. Objective characteristics of the functioning of the innovation infrastructure have been developed, such as: "current state", "level of efficiency", "system stability", "development". The role and importance of scientific and educational centers, the law of vertical integration in transnational breeding companies, digital solutions in the domestic agricultural industry, the platform of goods for agricultural producers "Own. Farming", launched by JSC "Rosselkhoznadzor" and other innovative infrastructure tools, as the basis for the transfer of scientific developments into economic practice and socio-economic development of rural areas. The list of tools of the organizational and economic mechanism for improving the innovation infrastructure in the agricultural sector of the country's economy in difficult conditions of sanctions pressure is proposed.
The purpose of the work is to assess the management of borrowed funds of agricultural holdings in the Russian Federation for a better understanding of the economic nature of these entities and the factors influencing their activities. As a result of the research, the following was revealed: 1) a pattern in the use of credit resources by agricultural holdings with a relatively low level of return on assets: the lower such profitability, the greater the volume of bank loans used. On the one hand, this is a consequence of a shortage of equity capital due to low profit levels, on the other hand, it contradicts the classical norms of financial management and represents a significant financial risk; 2) a downward trend in the share of short-term bank loans in the structure of liabilities of the average agricultural holding during the period 2009–2022 due to an increase in the volume of equity capital. As of 2022, the share of short-term bank loans in the structure of corresponding liabilities was 15%, which is sufficient to establish the dependence of the subjects under study on bank lending; 3) the lack of correlation between the indicators of the dynamics of return on assets of the organizations under study and the use of short-term bank loans. Changes in the return on assets indicator did not significantly affect the volume of their use. Such volumes were largely determined by the needs of operating activities and the lack of ability to quickly maneuver through other alternatives for raising capital. Ignoring by the managers of the organizations under study the dynamics of return on assets poses a danger to the financial condition of agricultural enterprises with a systematically low value of this indicator.
Based on a comparative analysis of the transition from unrelated state support in agriculture to direct subsidization of individual industries, the overall economic effect in the achieved results of the agro-industrial complex of Russia is estimated in accordance with the goals of the new Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation 2020. The research results confirm the positive economic effect of budget subsidies for agriculture, at the same time pointing to the need to ensure the integrated development of production systems that must have sufficient material and technical base and favourable climatic and infrastructural properties to ensure the effectiveness of state support. It is noted that the Krasnodar Territory has the most significant competitive advantages in comparison with other regions of the country in terms of the availability of high-quality agricultural land, product specializations, seaports, and a high index of technological changes. In conclusion, the article summarizes the need to support high investment activity in agriculture and stabilize export-import flows. The importance of strengthening the mechanisms for increasing productivity in the agro-industrial complex based on the widespread use of tax incentives for investment projects, the provision of state grants and direct budget subsidies for products sold, the installation and operation of irrigated farming systems, the development of family farms, farmers' wine startups and farmers' cooperatives was emphasized.
The relevance of the article is justified by the need to search for potential opportunities that contribute to increasing the provision of the country's population with fruit and berry products of its own production, solving problems of food and technological independence. The purpose of the study is to identify the spatial concentration of production of the horticulture sub–sector on the territory of the Russian Federation, to find ways to increase the level of consumption and self-sufficiency of domestic fruits in the regions. Trend analysis of changes in indicators (the size of the area of perennial plantations, gross harvest) for 2015-2022 revealed a trend of unstable development of this sub-sector. The differentiation of indicators of the level of consumption and self-sufficiency of fruits in the context of Russian federal districts is reflected. Based on spatial autocorrelation methods, according to data for 2022, an assessment of the relationship between regions in terms of gross harvest of fruits and berries was carried out. It has been revealed that regions with a high specialization in horticulture have an impact on neighboring regions. The heterogeneity of the industry's location across the country and its high dependence on natural and climatic conditions are noted. It is shown that the solution to the problem of providing each region with fruits largely depends on interregional cooperation and the development of the innovation sphere. The results of the study will improve the quality of decisions made in matters of territorial organization of economic activity and can be used in the development of regional programs for the development of the horticulture sub-sector.
The article presents the results of a study of the state of the domestic hop growing industry in terms of planting areas, gross harvest volumes, main cultivation regions, and varieties grown. Calculations of development indicators for the hop growing industry in the planning period until 2025 were carried out, taking into account ongoing investment projects in this area. The dynamics of import and export volumes of hops and hop products in Russia are analyzed separately. The purpose of the study was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the state of the domestic hop growing industry and calculate the required cultivation areas and volumes of gross hop harvests in the planning period, capable of satisfying the demand of domestic producers for hop products and reducing the industry’s import dependence under the conditions of sanctions pressure from countries unfriendly to Russia. The research was based on the use of quantitative, statistical and comparative methods, as well as methods of analogy, synthesis, generalization of the data obtained and expert assessments. The relevance of the study is due to the high import dependence of the hop growing industry and the increased need of domestic producers for domestic raw materials. The results of the study confirmed that Russian hops cover no more than 5% of the existing need of domestic producers for hop products. At the same time, the dynamics continue to increase the volume of imports of hops and hop products to Russia. The scientific novelty lies in the development of a balance of hop resources and hop products in Russia, on the basis of which the necessary additional planting areas of hop fields in the country were calculated, allowing in the planning period until 2030 to increase the overall gross hop harvest in the amount of 3,810 tons and reduce the strong import dependence of the hop growing industry.
Due to the different quality of flax mills, enterprises cultivating flax can receive raw materials of different quality in different years, which can be processed into long and short or into the same type of fiber. Almost half of Russian enterprises cultivating flax do not have acreage that allows them to effectively use classic equipment of normal dimensions for primary processing. For enterprises with small acreage, a number of small-sized flax fiber production lines have been developed, which are not universal, i.e. they cannot be quickly rebuilt to produce long, short or the same type of fiber. Taking into account the need for versatility of equipment and a large number of flax producers with small acreage, it became necessary to analyze the economic efficiency of primary processing of flax trusts of various quality on small-sized equipment. The article analyzes the domestic small-sized equipment manufactured by FSBI FNC LC for the primary processing of flax trusts into long, short and separately into the same type of fiber. As a result of the analysis of specialized lines of technological equipment, a universal line of small-sized equipment is proposed, which allows quickly and without significant financial costs to be rebuilt to process flax of various quality into fiber of different types, taking into account the demand of fiber in the market. Rational sowing areas of flax for its cost-effective processing have been determined. It has been established that the processing of the entire mass of flax both with and without subsidies into long and short fiber on specialized and universal lines is cost-effective, as is the processing of 50% of the mass of flax into long and short fiber and 50% of its mass into the same type of fiber. For cost-effective processing of 100% flax into the same type of fiber on a universal line, an acreage of at least 250 hectares with subsidies and at least 410 hectares without subsidies is required
The study highlights the main forms and measures of state support for the production of organic crop production: compensation for the cost of certification of exported products, free certification for small and medium-sized businesses, the use of compensating and stimulating subsidies, and independent determination by the subjects of the Russian Federation of the rates of subsidizing organic production in agriculture. Regional measures to support the development of organic crop production include: per-hectare support, stimulating the participation of Russian organic producers in exhibitions, fairs and congresses held in the Russian Federation and abroad, supporting agricultural producers within the framework of regional investment projects aimed at the transition from intensive farming to organic farming, compensation for the costs of using organic fertilizers and biological plant protection products, subsidizing training in organic agriculture, taking support measures for laboratories: subsidies for reimbursement of part of the costs of accreditation according to international standards. Federal and regional measures of state support for organic production are considered with the definition of the involved normative legal acts of the Russian Federation. Regional support has been identified in terms of financing organic agriculture in the Tomsk, Voronezh, Kaluga, and Yaroslavl regions. As promising areas of state support for the production of organic crop production, taking into account regional peculiarities, it is possible to allocate compensation for the costs of agrochemical and ecological-toxicological examination, the use of per-hectare support for producers of organic crop production, reimbursement of costs for the purchase and modernization of equipment.