MAIN TRENDS OF REGIONAL AGRICULTURE GROWTH: FROM VOLUME TO SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

The strategic task until 2030 for the agro-economic systems of the country and its regions is to increase the average annual growth rate of volumetric indicators of agricultural production to 3%, which is twice as high as the achieved value. To achieve this aim, it is necessary to develop and implement effective mechanisms to smooth out the abrupt growth of production volumes and ensure the sustainable development of agricultural sectors. The development of the agricultural sector of the Republic of Tatarstan shows positive trends in the growth of volumetric indicators of production over the past five years. The volume of gross agricultural output in the region increased with an annual growth rate of 21.62 billion rubles. At the same time, the volume of production growth in the crop and livestock sectors amounted to 11.11 and 10.49 billion rubles, respectively, which demonstrates the uniform development of the two main industries. The growth in volumetric indicators of product production is mainly due to the intensification of production processes, the introduction and development of innovative technologies. Along with this, abnormal weather conditions have a negative impact on the process of sustainable development of agriculture, as evidenced by the results of 2021, when the total production volume was only 80.1% of the previous year’s level, and crop production decreased by 38.7%. The identified trend once again emphasizes the need to search for adaptive methods of farming in accordance with climate change by moving at a more intensive pace to the creation of drought-resistant varieties, the development of moisture-saving technologies and the active implementation of reclamation measures. Livestock farming is developing at a more sustainable pace, although there is a decline in the numbers of certain animal species. However, this process does not affect production volumes due to increased animal productivity. The industry is in the process of gradually replacing low-productive animals with highly productive breeding stock. To transition to sustainable development of agriculture in the republic, it is necessary to continue work on adapting technological processes to climate change, creating and introducing new varieties, developing genetic technologies for animal breeding, using digitalization and robotization of the industry.