Developing the Potential of Agriculture in Russia Under Western Sanctions and Food Independence Priorities

Abstract

The introduction of digital technologies into economic practices at the national and regional levels poses the task of mandatory digital transformation in the most traditional (agrarian) sector of the economy, the basis of which is agricultural activity, critically dependent on the condition and availability of factors such as land, labor, and capital. The shortage of material and financial resources, the growth of elements of self-government, dependence on suppliers of digital products, and sanctions pressure on the national market – all these factors aggravate the problem of the economic efficiency of introducing digital technologies into this sector of the national economy. The traditionally high role of the state in the development of agriculture requires presenting promising directions for realizing the potential of agriculture in the context of digital transformation, aimed at ensuring the growth of added value generated in this industry, increasing self-sufficiency (food independence) in the most export-oriented agricultural products, and participation in the formation of an independent and safe for all countries participating in the global digital platform and other achievements of the digital economy (blockchain, smart livestock and crop production technologies, robotic technologies with AI, etc.). The article presents the results of the author’s research using the example of a number of regions with sharply different levels of agricultural development, including an assessment of the level of food independence of Russia at the regional level and external environmental factors that impede the realization of the competitiveness of Russian agricultural products on the world market, including through limited access to global infrastructure for international trade in grain and other agricultural products.