The article considers the prospects and factors of family farms development in the current institutional conditions and macroeconomic environment. The thesis that family farms using the most advanced technologies of the Industry 4.0 can successfully compete with large agro-companies is substantiated. Digital technology, automation and robotization allow the realization of economies of scale at a smaller production size than in the industrial, conveyor method of labour organization, to increase production and sales to effective volumes without a significant increase in the number of employees and complicating the management structure, receiving simultaneously the effect of entrepreneurship (innovative rent) and the scale of production (reducing the share of fixed costs). The use of digital technology, in the absence of problems with asymmetry of information and on-farm opportunistic behaviour, allows family farms to increase the scale of production, minimizing the cost of control and management. Family farms are the most important factor in the preservation of rural (peasant) society, give sustainability to the development of rural areas, because the owners - the family does not consider the farm only as a property complex, which can be sold, focusing on the stock market conditions. Family farms are characterized by their stability under conditions of economic uncertainty, a high degree of responsiveness to changing economic conditions and the adjustment of their own production plans. To research the system of indicators that characterize the ability of family farms to maintain sustainable development in an increasingly competitive environment and the transition of the agricultural sector to "Industry 4.0", the method of analysis of paired categories is proposed. The experience and mechanisms of integration and development of US farms into the system of agribusiness with preservation of the family way of life, which can be considered positive and suitable after adaptation to the conditions of the Russian Federation, are summarized. Proposals for improving the sustainable innovation and investment development of family farms are proposed.
The article describes the author's approach to solving optimization problems in agricultural production. Within the framework of the analytical studies and the results obtained, optimization models for the production of differentiated crop production and the distribution of products have been developed. The purpose of the study is to assess and methodological substantiation of the main factors contributing to the improvement of economic and financial results of agricultural production activities due to the optimal structure of crop production. As the basic provisions of the working hypothesis of the study, the objective conditions were used: that agricultural land is not only a means of production but also an object of labour that brings income. These circumstances imply the objective expediency of changes in the organization of management of the structure of production in agriculture based on optimization techniques that influence the adoption of local and strategic decisions related to increasing economic efficiency in order to sustainably develop agricultural production in the Astrakhan region. In the course of testing the hypothesis, a conceptual model for the production of differentiated agricultural products by economic entities of agricultural production, including small farms and their complexes in a competitive, weakly institutionalized market environment, was proposed.
Sustainability of rural development is a priority of economic policy for many countries of the world, but it is not always achieved. One of the reasons is the imperfection of the theoretical understanding of the sustainable development of rural areas, which is reflected in the concepts related to this area of economic policy of the state. The analysis of various definitions of rural territories is carried out; it is shown that it would be most reasonable to understand them as "open" systems, the development of which is influenced by many factors, including external ones. Rural territories are included in the economy of the region, which affects the sustainability of their development, including the outflow of rural population to cities, slowing down the development of the rural economy. A feature of rural areas is also the diversity of their economy, depending on natural conditions and other factors. Taking into account the analysis of various approaches to determining the sustainability of rural development, the conclusion is made about the most reasonable understanding of it in relation to the ability to achieve long-term targets of socio-economic and environmental development, taking into account external conditions. This can be achieved only through transformations taking into account external conditions that ensure the achievement of a significant result for local communities. Since sustainability in rural development is achieved, among other things, by regional support, the properties of openness, exposure to external factors, economic diversification, as well as the proposed understanding of sustainability should be taken into account when developing long-term rural development programs.
The article proposes an author's methodology for assessing the effectiveness of investments in human capital in agricultural production. The calculation of this indicator is necessary to determine the type of reproduction of human capital: simple, narrowed and expanded. In modern economic conditions, efficient agricultural production is possible only with an expanded type of reproduction of human capital, when it is constantly improved and new properties are acquired. This raises the problem of quantifying the type of reproduction of human capital that is, assessing the effectiveness of investments in human capital. If investments exceed the return on human capital, then the narrowed reproduction, if they correspond, is then simple, and if less, then expanded. The article proposes to use the method of investment analysis as a methodological basis for such an assessment, since the process of reproduction of human capital is an investment activity that represents the process of investing funds (public and private) in a person (future employee of the industry) in order to obtain a further return on it in the form of profit, tax revenues, etc.
The article discusses approaches for forecasting of food consumption in general as well as in the context of decile groups of the population, developed by various scientific schools. The regression equations on the dependence of the Russian population food product consumption expenditures on total expenditures, as well as for certain food products, have been constructed. The analysis of the coefficients of elasticity of the food demand in general and on certain types of products in Russia in the context of decile groups is carried out, a comparison is made with the estimates of other authors, and conclusions are drawn about the possibilities of their use for forecasting demand. On the basis of demand equations and the economic-mathematical model, the forecast of agricultural production volumes for 2030 was updated, taking into account consumption by all population groups at the level of rational norms. An assessment was made on the growth in gross agricultural output in the case of launching the state program "Food Certificate" for the first three decile groups of the population with the lowest incomes. The necessary income growth of the population in the context of decile groups in constant prices was calculated to ensure consumption at the level of rational norms. Conclusions are drawn about the possibilities of exporting agricultural products in 2030 in the context of growing domestic demand.
The article discloses the role of healthy balanced nutrition in the implementation of the main national development goal of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030, which consists in preserving the population, health and well-being of people. Trends in the consumption of basic foodstuffs by the population of Russia, established in the post-form period, and the ratio of actual consumption in recent years with minimum and rational standards, were revealed. The functions of minimum and rational standards of food consumption in the system of public reproduction are justified. Their evolution in the USSR and the Russian Federation is considered. Factors that practically determine the historical transformation of minimum and rational food consumption standards have been identified. An assessment was given of the bill "On the consumer basket as a whole in the Russian Federation," aimed at qualitative transformations in the minimum social consumption standard, which was submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in December 2019 by a group of deputies from the Just Russia party and the calculations of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia in terms of the minimum Russian recovery budget, including the cost of the minimum food basket. An estimate of the transition of the Russian Federation in 2021 from a normative to a monetary model for the formation of a minimum consumer budget by median income is given. Based on the importance of rational nutrition for the health of the nation, an increase in the working and general life expectancy of Russian citizens, measures are proposed to improve the regulatory regulation of food consumption in the Russian Federation. Priorities are identified in the area of state regulation of food consumption at the present stage.
The article analyzes the impact and consequences of COVID-19 on the state of food security of systems of various levels. It is reflected how the pandemic has a destabilizing effect at the global, national and local levels, including through certain factors of direct and indirect impact. The COVID-19 pandemic was an unexpected and compounding factor. The largest increase in moderate or acute food security between 2019 and 2020 was in Latin America, the Caribbean (9 percentage points), Africa (5.4 percentage points), and Asia (2.3 percentage points). Due to the high cost, already in 2019, nutrition became inaccessible to 3 billion people on the planet. Along with threats to health and the decline in the standard and quality of life of people, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused great damage to the economy of the whole world, transformed food systems, reduced the level of food self-sufficiency and security of many countries. In this regard, the aim of the study was to uncover trends and problems of the corona virus pandemic COVID-19 to assess and possible solutions on the issue of food security at the macro and mesolevels. The novelty lies in the development of combined approaches to post-pandemic food security by monitoring new and previously unused sources and materials at three main levels: global, national (state) and local (regional), taking into account political and economic trends. The relevance and significance of the study lies in the possibility of further practical application of its results.
The article presents the results of research in the field of change management theory of innovative development of agro-industrial enterprises, taking into account the challenges of scientific and technological transformation of managerial business processes and digitalization of the economy of the agro-industrial complex. The main scientific result is a methodological approach to assessing the sustainability of balanced innovative development in the context of the conceptual principles of institutional economics, system economic theory, and innovation and technology management. Specific signs of balanced innovative development are revealed: the level of material resources used in the production of products; the presence of logistics routes; the environmental impact of the results of resource processing, including the cost of disposal of residues; a significant mass of fixed assets. Specific features allow us to consider the sustainability of balanced innovative development in the context of resource, internal and productive parts. The author's structure for assessing the sustainable balanced innovative development of agro-industrial enterprises has been developed. A distinctive feature of the proposed structure is: the allocation of its key elements - resource components; justification of the classification of resource blocks; argumentation of indicators and factors of each resource component that affect the sustainability of balanced innovative development of agro-industrial enterprises. The applied approach will allow for a detailed analysis of changes in balanced innovative development in the context of enlarged groups of factors, as well as with details up to individual indicators. Economic indicators reflecting the state of sustainability of balanced innovative development of agro-industrial enterprises in the context of each element are proposed and justified. This makes it possible to detail the analysis of deviations and changes in the potential of balanced innovative development of agro-industrial enterprises, as well as to identify other problem points during the analytical evaluation procedure.
The article is devoted to the problems of formation and regulation of prices and price relations in the agro-industrial complex and on the food market. The article notes that in modern conditions, pricing is based on cost and market approaches. The authors revealed a significant dynamics of growth in the cost of agricultural products, which is reflected in the increase in sales prices. At the same time, the rise in prices in agriculture in recent years has been significantly less than in other areas of the agro-industrial complex and on the consumer market. The authors analyzed the institutional environment for the regulation of prices and price relations, which showed that only a few measures are used to regulate prices in the agro-industrial complex. In this regard, the President of Russia has instructed to ensure the development of long-term market mechanisms that guarantee the predictability of prices for goods, saturation of the domestic market with quality products. The authors emphasize that the optimization of price relations in the agro-industrial complex consists of a set of measures to regulate the price ratios between resource-supplying industries and agriculture, the food industry and trade in the domestic and foreign markets. On this basis, the authors have developed a comprehensive system of measures aimed at stabilizing the price situation in the agri-food market in Russia. In particular, it is proposed to introduce stricter regulation of prices for socially significant food products (setting maximum wholesale and retail mark-ups, mark-ups of importers), as well as expand the list of such goods. The article also notes that significant increase in food prices, along with a decrease in real incomes of the population, can lead to an increase in socio-economic tension. Therefore, the stabilization of the price situation in the agri-food market is impossible without ensuring effective demand, i.e. raising the standard of living of the population, especially its socially unprotected population.
Rational land use in conditions of ongoing degradation of land, soil and vegetation cover is one of the conditions for the formation of sustainable systems in agriculture in the region. The solution of environmental and economic problems in this area is constrained by uncertainty in the organization of their solution, the lack of theoretical elaboration of strategic land management, which urgently requires filling this gap. The purpose of the study was to develop conceptual provisions of the strategy of rational land use management in agriculture. The authors formulated the concept of a rational land use strategy, the basic principles, elements and sequence of its construction. The structural mechanism of strategy formation is proposed, which consists in bringing material, technical, financial and land resources into strategic alignment with human capital on the basis of ensuring the readiness of workers and management personnel for rational land use. The authors have developed a conceptual model of a strategic map of rational land use based on a balanced system of economic and environmental criteria and proposed strategic directions for its implementation. The model describes how, with the help of internal process management, as well as training and development, rational land use in agriculture is ensured. The developed model of the strategic map of rational land use is the basic one; in each case it will be unique, with a unique set of strategic directions characteristic of a particular region. The conducted research emphasizes that the implementation of a strategic approach to land use management should become the starting element of any land use program measures, which will contribute to the formation of the sustainability of agriculture in the region in rapidly changing environmental conditions.