The relevance of this study is determined by the aggravating shortage of personnel in the Russian agro–industrial complex, which reached 200 thousand people by the beginning of 2025, with the number of employees decreasing from 4.51 million people in 2021 to 4.27 million in 2024. The objective of the study is to develop a methodology for a comprehensive assessment of the factors shaping the human resources potential of the agro–industrial complex based on the analysis of statistical data and the integration of demographic, technological, financial, and educational indicators. The methodology includes a statistical analysis of data from the World Bank, the Federal State Statistics Service, and the Ministry of Agriculture for the period 2020–2024 and the development of a system of integral indices with a detailed description of the components and calculation procedures. The results are presented by an analysis of key indicators of human resources potential, which revealed a decrease in the number of employees by 5.3% with an increase in the relative level of wages from 67.7% to 73.1% of the economic average, and the author's methodology for calculating the integral index of human resources potential based on four factors. The practical significance lies in the potential application of the developed methodology for monitoring the status and forecasting labor needs in the Russian agro-industrial complex in the context of digital transformation.
In the context of sanctions pressure and global instability, the Russian agri-food market is in the phase of adaptive transformation. Assessment of the current state of the agri-food market, identification of structural shifts and social imbalances are critical for adjusting agricultural policy and ensuring sustainable development of the industry. The purpose of the study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of production, the level of self-sufficiency and the structure of food consumption in Russia for 2020-2024, as well as to identify factors that determine the availability of food for various socio-demographic groups of the population. The authors used general theoretical (deductions, ascent from abstract to concrete) and universal methods (ranking and systematization of statistical data, interpretations of the results obtained). In the article, based on the data of the Federal State Statistics Service, a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the agri-food market of the Russian Federation for 2020-2024 is carried out. The dynamics and structure of agricultural production in the context of categories of farms and main types of products are studied, a steady trend towards concentration of production in large agricultural holdings is revealed. Separately, the country's self-sufficiency in key food types is analyzed in accordance with the Food Security Doctrine. Based on household survey data, the structure and dynamics of food consumption are investigated in detail, as well as the deep differentiation of consumer behavior and food availability depending on the level of available resources and household size. The results of the study allow us to state the dominance of the model of industrialized, export-oriented growth, accompanied by increased structural imbalances between agro-industrial sectors and the preservation of significant social inequality in access to quality nutrition.
South Africa is the leader of the African region in the production of agricultural products, fully provides itself with food and is one of the world's leading exporters of agricultural products. South Africa produces most crops of the temperate and subtropical zones. The main export crops are corn, wheat, sorghum, and fruits. The country has developed animal husbandry, represented by such industries as sheep, cattle, goats, horses, ostriches. High agricultural production rates and significant growth in South Africa's export potential have been made possible by the country's state agrarian policy. The agrarian policy in South Africa, implemented for more than two decades, has been inextricably linked with the political, economic and social transformations in the country taking place after the abolition of the apartheid regime in 1994. Among the promising areas of agricultural development in South Africa are the tasks in the field of resource conservation, primarily land and water, adaptation to global climate change, and stimulating scientific and technical research. The Government pays great attention to the latter area. It is planned to increase funding in this area, in particular through the provision of grants, cooperation with foreign researchers with financial support from private and public-private capital. The country's participation in the BRICS opens up new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of agriculture and in the future may lead to an increase in trade in goods, an increase in opportunities for cooperation in the scientific and technical field in agriculture, and the creation of joint projects in the agricultural sector.
This article highlights how the positive functioning of the regional agro-industrial complex (AIC) directly determines the effective development of the agricultural economy and rural areas, achieving food security, and increasing rural employment. The authors present the results of a comprehensive assessment of the current state and transformational changes in Bashkortostan's AIC in recent years. A detailed analysis of key statistical indicators and parameters of the AIC's performance for the period 2019-2024 is provided, including an assessment of production volumes, acreage of individual crops, and livestock numbers by farm category. It is demonstrated that the AIC currently occupies a key position in the republic's economy, and with significant natural and climatic potential, developed infrastructure, and government support, the region consistently ranks among the leaders of the Russian agricultural sector in certain strategic parameters. The study concludes that there is a need for state budgetary, targeted, and grant support for rural producers, an active human resources policy and the attraction of workers to the agricultural sector of the economy, direct subsidies and increased investment in infrastructure facilities in rural areas and settlements, and incentives for the development of digitalization processes and innovative forms of economic management in rural areas.
The Penza region occupies an important place in the foreign trade system of the agro-industrial complex (AIC) of the Russian Federation. The region has significant resource, production and logistics advantages that ensure the sustainable development of export-oriented sectors of agriculture and processing industry. The export structure of the region is dominated by meat and dairy products, food products, as well as certain types of crop production. The participation of the Penza region in the foreign trade system of the agro-industrial complex of Russia contributes to strengthening the country's food security, expanding the geography of supplies and increasing the competitiveness of regional producers in world markets. State support for exports, development of logistics infrastructure and modernization of agricultural production create conditions for further increasing the export potential of the region.
Food security is an integral element of a state's economic strategy, requiring a comprehensive approach and a long-term perspective in its implementation. In the current stage of global economic development, which is characterized by a high degree of interconnectedness, technological complexity, and growing global challenges, the phenomenon of food security has acquired a new, systemic dimension. The purpose of this study is to identify the main concepts of food security, the conditions and reasons for their formation and transformation, taking into account changes; to consider the concept of a strategy for ensuring food security in individual states in modern conditions. Food security is currently not simply a question of the availability of food resources in the country, but a complex and multi-component indicator that allows us to assess the ability of an economic system to adapt to shocks, ensure sustainable development, and maintain social stability. In the context of a growing world population, increasing climate change, pandemic threats, and geopolitical instability, the problem of sustainable food supply is becoming especially relevant. The choice of a concept on which to build a strategy for ensuring food security for a country is a determining factor in the stability of the socio-economic basis of its economic development, and will also contribute to solving global challenges in the agri-food sector and the economy of the country as a whole.
The study assesses the impact of the protectionist US trade policy, primarily import duties, on the structure and dynamics of the global wine market. The purpose of the study is to answer the question: how does the US trade escalation in relation to EU wines affect market trends, consumers and producers, primarily American ones. It is shown that the USA, being the world's largest wine producer, does not occupy a significant place in world exports, which stimulated the policy of protecting national producers. The evolution and reasons for the increase in customs duties, however, have shown that the 2019-2025 US wine duties are currently time often has political motives that go beyond the industry. The results of the study confirm that the protectionist policy of the United States in the wine industry leads to complex and ambiguous consequences. Despite the stated goal of protecting domestic producers, trade barriers do not provide sustainable long-term benefits for the American industry, but shift increased trade costs to consumers who prefer European wines, despite the increased cost. The study also highlights the unintended consequences of U.S. actions, including retaliatory measures by trading partners and market destabilization. In general, the analysis confirms the hypothesis that US duties on wine imports often bring more benefits to foreign market participants than to those domestic producers in whose interests they were initially introduced. The results of modeling a potential increase in duties on wine imports to the United States have shown that such a measure may lead to a redistribution of trade flows in favor of third countries seeking to occupy a niche in the US wine market.
This article is devoted to the development of a mechanism for activating the introduction of innovations into the activities of agricultural enterprises in the context of the transformation of the agricultural sector and increased demands for its competitiveness and sustainability. Innovations are considered a key factor in increasing the efficiency of agricultural production, ensuring food security, and adapting agricultural enterprises to changing economic, climatic, and market conditions. The paper systematizes the main types of innovations used in the agro-industrial complex and provides examples of their practical implementation. Special attention is paid to the role of state regulation, economic levers, and incentives in creating a favorable innovative environment. A step-by-step mechanism for activating the introduction of innovations is proposed, based on a preliminary assessment of the capabilities of the agricultural enterprise, borrowing and transforming innovative solutions, state incentives, and high-quality financial support. It is substantiated that the application of the developed mechanism contributes to the growth of innovative activity of agricultural enterprises, increasing their economic efficiency and the sustainable development of the agricultural sector as a whole. The practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of using the proposed mechanism in developing strategies for the innovative development of agricultural enterprises and measures of state support for the industry.
The relevance of the problem discussed in this article is characterized by the need to develop an effective institutional environment for the functioning of agricultural markets, ensuring the sustainable development of rural areas and regional economies. Achieving these goals is impossible without finding tools to improve the effectiveness of institutional transformations in agricultural markets. This article attempts to theoretically develop a model for the institutionalization of agricultural universities as a multifaceted platform for implementing the innovation process. A retrospective analysis of the institutions implementing the innovation process at universities, including agricultural ones, is conducted. A set of operating regulations, grouped by key capability types, is proposed to ensure the institutionalization of agricultural universities as a multifaceted platform for the innovation process and management of agricultural markets. Emphasis is placed on the need to implement an information system for recording the production and sale of organic products and a system for assessing institutional transformations in the functioning of agricultural markets. The results obtained in the study presented in this article are characterized by a certain level of significance for the implementation of agricultural policy in agricultural markets. They can be applied in strategic and tactical planning of the functioning of agricultural product markets by all their stakeholders.
The article examines certain theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of institutions of innovation and investment development, revealing a promising organizational and economic mechanism for interaction between institutions and rural economic entities. Based on the analysis and generalization of scientific and methodological approaches, provisions for innovation and investment development are proposed, highlighting its directions, principles, determining factors, as well as problems that hinder its establishment under the emerging conditions of geostrategic tension. A promising direction for ensuring innovation and investment development is explored through the establishment, under the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, of a separate institution whose primary function is to accumulate and distribute long-term investment resources to stimulate innovation processes in agriculture and more actively transfer scientific achievements into the real sector of agricultural production. Another institutional solution could be the creation of digital platforms based on regional federal scientific centers with an agricultural or interdisciplinary profile. Currently, in the context of increasing sanctions pressure on our country, growing geostrategic tension, and rising threats, including technological ones, a possible solution to the problem of stimulating innovation and investment development is the revival of scientific and production associations, but on different, market-oriented principles of management, while still involving direct regulatory participation by the state. As a possible solution to the problem arising from the established hypertrophied imbalance in the long-term debt capital system toward lending, it is proposed to create new institutions (venture private investment institutions; direct investment funds; portfolio investments; an institute of preferential taxation for long-term private investments in the research and innovation sphere) aimed at the trajectory of innovative and investment development of the agricultural sector of the economy.