Agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation as an indicator of Russia’s readiness for an innovation breakthrough

Abstract

Agriculture is a critical sector for the economy of any state, because it is the lifeblood of many other industries. The article provides an indicative analysis of the of the Russian economy readiness to enter the growth phase of the sixth technological order. The research is based on the postulate of the theory of long waves by N.D. Kondratyev, according to which the monitoring of innovation in the agricultural sector allows obtaining indicators of the phase of the economic cycle. The paper provides an assessment of the innovative development of world agriculture for compliance with global technological trends. The main indicators of innovation and economic growth in dynamics over the past few years are considered. The investment process specificity in country’s agri[1]cultural production due to geographical, logistic and economic factors, that leads to a high capital intensity of innovations in the industry, has been revealed. The main problem in the investment attractiveness of the industry is the low demand among farmers for research and development results due to their high cost, which forms the extensive nature of investments in the industry and their low profitability. Low efficiency of research and development financing in the industry is due to investments in basic research that is not demanded by the market. The reason for this phenomenon is explained by ageing of intellectual capital in the industry and the lack of institutional tools for its activation: low wages, lack of clear tools for managing innovation in the industry. Possible solutions to problems of the agriculture innovative development and increasing the agricultural sector attractiveness for investors are given.