PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE VOLOGDA OBLAST: AGRARIANS’ ASSESSMENTS
The exceptional strategic importance of the agricultural sector for Russia, as well as for any other country in the world, predetermines the relevance of monitoring its functioning at the local, regional and national levels, identifying problems and barriers to its development, and understanding the reasons for their emergence and the development of mechanisms to eliminate them. To solve the set of tasks it is necessary to use not only quantitative but also qualitative research methods, such as survey methods (questioning, interviewing, expert surveys, etc.). Since 1992, the staff of Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been conducting expert surveys of the heads of agricultural organizations and heads of peasant (farm) households to assess the problems and prospects of development of the industry in a qualitative way. The purpose of the article is to analyze the state of agriculture in the Vologda Oblast, to identify key trends and to update the problems of its development on the basis of the results of the surveys. The study determined that the development of agriculture is hindered by a number of problems, the key ones of which, according to agrarians, are the disparity of prices for agricultural and industrial products and insufficient budget support for agricultural producers. Also, the introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions in 2022 had a negative impact on the activities of agricultural enterprises. It was revealed that the funds allocated for investment purposes in 2021 were sufficient for the majority of agrarians only for simple reproduction. The directions of state agrarian policy that are most demanded by the managers of agricultural enterprises are highlighted. The relevance and significance of the research lies in the possibility of using its results by regional and local authorities in improving agricultural policy and policy in the development of rural areas, by representatives of agribusiness in assessing and justifying the prospects of its development, by researchers and other interested persons in considering certain aspects of the research topic.