This article is devoted to methodological issues of assessing the innovative activity of agriculture for different levels of the management hierarchy. For this purpose, the method of expert assessments is used. The most preferable method can be considered to determine innovation activity by the presence of all types of costs (rational or normative) in the cost form for the implementation of innovative processes by an organization over a certain period of time. At the level of agricultural organizations, not all stages of the innovation process are carried out, but only part of them. hence, innovation activity will be associated with the intensity of the following activities: development of innovations in the field of production and service; acquisition of new varieties of plants and animal breeds; carrying out breeding and seed-growing measures; propagation of animal breeds; maintenance of patents and licensing agreements on the use of innovations; cooperation with external organizations for the development, implementation and development of innovations, etc. Within the framework of this study, a methodological approach to a comprehensive assessment of investment and innovation activity and potential has been developed. The approach is hierarchical, since it is an integrated hierarchical assessment of the indicators of all agricultural organizations located in the region. This sequence is used because the organization is the final link in the application of invested funds. At the same time, being characterized by its own investment activity, it is simultaneously in the "investment field" of all objects of the investment market, and takes on all changes in higher-level systems. The indicator of investment and innovation activity is divided by expert analysis into two components: total subsidies received; profitability, taking into account subsidies. Investment and innovation potential includes: resource potential (material, financial, and human resources); financial potential (in this case, liquidity); and human potential (average annual number, salary Fund).
The dynamic development of agricultural production depended largely on the availability, training and professionalism of industry workers. Labour resources in agriculture are one of the main factors of production, the effective use of which ensures food security, the development of sustainable agricultural production, the functioning of food markets, the growth of rural incomes, as well as other key tasks of the economy. The agricultural sector is one of the leading sectors of the economy of the Stavropol Territory. Agriculture forms 15‰ of the gross regional product, accumulates 16‰ of the total investment and provides employment for 17‰ of the region's population. The tasks of reducing the deficit, improving the qualifications of specialists, and the level of education of workers in mass professions are becoming more and more urgent and are among the strategic tasks of all state structures. The solution of these tasks is directly related to the formation and effective implementation of the state personnel policy of the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation and should be based on studies of the labour resources of agricultural organizations that take into account both their quantitative and qualitative characteristics. The need for a timely and complete solution of the above problems made the topic of scientific research relevant.
Small forms of farming in rural areas, as an indispensable element of the market economy, make a certain contribution to the overall production of agricultural products, which to some extent helps to save resources, creates the necessary environment for the development of competition, and provides employment for a significant part of the population. Other advantages of small businesses include: the ability to quickly adapt to changing economic conditions, mobility and flexibility in making management decisions, dynamism and purposefulness, perseverance, creativity, willingness to take risks and the ability to manage them. In addition, their activities contribute to solving social problems in rural areas, establishing sustainable development of rural territories, providing employment and supporting the income of the rural population. However, representatives of small businesses in modern conditions face a number of problems associated primarily with the influence of external factors: difficulties with the sale of products, insufficient state financial support, low level of information and consulting and personnel support, which cannot be solved independently. To improve the efficiency of small-scale business in the agro-industrial complex, the article proposes a set of measures and justifies priority areas for solving these problems. The authors also studied the main conditions for the development of small agricultural entrepreneurship in Russia. Considerable attention is paid to tools that contribute to the active development of small businesses in the agro-industrial complex. It is proved that the activation of agribusiness, including small businesses, depends not only on direct support, but also on the creation of favourable conditions, the development of agricultural consulting, insurance support, and a number of others.
In modern conditions, the state weakens the regulatory role and funding for the development of agriculture, especially agriculture, despite the importance of the industry for the food supply of the population. It is important to develop practical recommendations and implement measures aimed at maintaining the priority of agribusiness development, as well as rational spatial organization of the industry, its development, location, and optimal size. The purpose of the work is to develop the organizational and economic basis for the functioning of a stable agro-industrial production. The article presents an analysis and reveals the positive experience of functioning of integrated associations in the agro-industrial complex. The activity of various organizational forms of production of rational sizes is analyzed. The necessity of substantiating rational forms of production organization and their size in integrated agribusiness associations is revealed. The article substantiates the rational territorial and sectoral division of labour in agro-industrial production. The experience of large agribusiness organizations with a high concentration of livestock creates risks associated with animal deaths, manure disposal, and excessive accumulation of nitrates in the soil. Therefore, it is important to take into account the regional aspect when placing agricultural production, taking into account industry management.
The development of the grain market is due to self-regulation with minimal state participation, which has led to negative consequences, both in the sphere of production and in the mechanism of the market of grain and its processed products. Grain producers in the Siberian Federal district (SFD) are at a disadvantage in the market position. They are limited in controlling the movement of grain and regulating its supply, cannot influence prices, and are not able to respond quickly to changes in the economic situation on the grain market. The purpose of the study is to determine the most significant problems of the grain market and ways to solve them based on the analysis of the state of grain farming in the Siberian Federal district. The main grain-producing regions of the Siberian Federal district, the volume of grain production and sales through sales channels, and the main recipients of Siberian grain in Russia are identified. Marketing research conducted in the grain market of the Siberian Federal district revealed its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Analysis of the development of the grain market of the Siberian Federal district allowed us to identify the main problems that hinder the development of the grain market in the region. The main directions of development of the grain market of the SFO, which must be exercised based on the market mechanism of self-regulation and state interventions into market processes. The study is based on statistical data provided by the ministries of agriculture of the SFD regions, the Federal customs service, open sources, and research results of specialized divisions of the Siberian Federal Scientific Centre of Agro-Bio Technologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
A modern strategy for the development of the northern territories should take into account not only the prospects for industrial development, but also provide for the creation of favourable and safe conditions for «habitation». The formation of conditions for a stable and uninterrupted food supply is an important component of ensuring the safety of the population in the Arctic zone. The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of modern provision and self-sufficiency of the population of the Murmansk region with food products based on Rosstat data for the period from 2000 to 2018. In general, the population is sufficiently protected from food problems, but mainly due to imported products. A significant problem in the Murmansk region is the critical drop in regional agricultural production. Only 2.4-8‰ of the population can be fully provided with their own products within 10-28 days. A further drop in agricultural production will lead to a complete loss of the agricultural sector in the Murmansk region. The development of own program for the development of the agricultural sector will serve as a factor in keeping prices down on the regional food market. The data obtained will serve as a rationale and motivation for the implementation of measures to improve the food security situation in the northern region.
This article discusses the current problems of agricultural land use. Based on statistical data, the analysis of the land potential of the Smolensk region was carried out. The calculation of the number and total area of land plots, the cadastral value of which is higher than the average value by 10 and 30‰ for each municipal district in the Smolensk region. Recommendations and proposals on attribution of agricultural lands to particularly valuable lands by cadastral value are given. When assessing the efficiency of land use, the question arises of improving the organizational and legal aspects of managing this type of resource. It is impossible to improve the efficiency of land use without a certain algorithm of actions, norms and rules governing the management of objects (land resources) at the level of the municipality, the region and the country as a whole. The proposed activities on various aspects of land administration in agriculture will contribute to improving the efficiency of land using.
The question of the quantitative aspects of sustainable development of rural areas and the definition of specific quantitative parameters of programs for the development of rural areas is not resolved, despite the large volume of literature in the world on sustainable development. There is also no definition of sustainable development that would reflect the specifics of the development of rural areas and, in particular, rural areas of Russia. The indicators of “adjusted net savings” and “net national income” calculated by the World Bank are also not a universal quantitative expression of sustainable development, since in essence they characterize only the potential value of investments, reduced by the amount of excess profits from the sale of natural resources. However, there is an internationally recognized approach of the UN and the EU in the direction of concretizing development goals and their quantification (determining quantitative parameters) for a certain period. Nevertheless, there is no and, apparently, there cannot be a single list of key issues and indicators of sustainable development suitable for all countries due to the differences in their historical development and current state. However, the problem of natural population growth is key problem for most countries with a high and medium level of development. Without its solution there can be no sustainable development of the economy and society. For Russia and its rural territories, this problem is of particular importance due to its complex historical development in the 20th century. There is world experience in the quantitative determination of the sustainability of development by means of gradation of the required rates of achievement of the set goals and the indicators corresponding to them. This experience can be applied in the development of programs for sustainable development of rural areas in Russia.
As a result of the study, the reasons hindering the implementation of scientific developments related to the substantiation of the prospects for the development of infrastructure for servicing the agro-industrial complex of a rural municipality are divided into reasons typical for running an agricultural business, reasons that form problems for the development of the infrastructure itself, and reasons associated with the promotion of research results scientific institutions; the conclusions were made that without the development of production in the countryside, the services of infrastructure organizations will not be in demand, and without changing the attitude of district authorities to the development of local business, they will not be able to become customers and coordinators of the implementation of either scientific achievements or infrastructure development in general.
With the introduction of the new Food Security Doctrine in 2020, the criteria for its assessment have changed - the level of food independence has given way to the level of food self-sufficiency. At the same time, both the first and second criteria are known in the practice of analyzing foreign trade - they are derived from the level of dependence on imports and the ratio of net exports to consumption. Such a transition reflects a change in the model of agricultural development - from overcoming import dependence to export orientation. The aim of the present study is to attempt to address a number of methodological problems arising from the use of self-reliance as a criterion for food security. The first problem is the need to reflect intra-industry trade in assessing self-reliance. The proposed solution is to factorize the corresponding indicator into elements that characterize the level of food independence and the contribution of exports to production. The practical effect of the proposed model was to prove that the self-sustainment thresholds established in the Doctrine were not related to the export volume of specific products and did not take into account the planned objectives of the federal project "Export of agro-industrial products." The second problem is the potential unreasonable increase in self-sufficiency in replacing consumption with export. As a solution to the problem, a factor model is proposed, based on the use of sustainable consumption standards, taking into account its endowment with domestic resources and the contribution of exports to production. The use of the model showed that, despite the increase in the level of self-sufficiency in vegetable oil and fish, there was an increase in the relative volume of imports for these products, and an additional decrease in consumption for fish. A third problem relates to the aggregation of self-sufficiency by product into an overall level of food security. A formula is proposed for calculating it as an average level weighted by the structure of household consumer spending.