ROLE OF THE AGRICULTURE IN MODERN RUSSIA

ROLE OF THE AGRICULTURE IN MODERN RUSSIA

Kotov Roman Mihajlovich

So, the modern agriculture decides a number of major tasks.

1. Maintenance of prime needs of the population.

The food stuffs which are used by the person for maintenance of ability to live are made in agrarian sector. In this connection importance of agriculture increases because in foreseeable prospect it has no alternative and the different way of food supply of the population does not exist.

Besides in agriculture the goods which we don’t eat but they have special value are made. These are natural raw materials for manufacture of clothes and footwear which in conditions of a climatic variety of Russia get a special urgency.

2. Maintenance of the certain living standard of citizens.

The agrarian sector absorbing a significant manpower, solves the problems of employment in village providing reception of incomes to workers of an agriculture that finally determines a standard of well-being of agricultural population including those people who are engaged in non-agricultural work (communication, medicine, education, culture and etc.).

Besides in agrarian manufacture the industrial goods are widely used, and the raw material is made for processing branches of agrarian and industrial complex which basically are located in cities. Thus the agriculture brings the significant contribution to increase of a standard of well-being of urban population.

3. Economic development.

At dynamical development of an agriculture demand for the goods of providing branches of agrarian and industrial complex and accordingly the offer for processing branches increases. Due to this agricultural sector acts as the locomotive of economic growth in the country.

One more important role of the agricultural production and other branches of agrarian and industrial complex is to bring the big contribution to formation of the state treasury by tax payments and duties. And also, providing (or providing in part) the population food stuffs, the agriculture saves significant means for import of the foodstuffs from abroad.

By superfluous production the agriculture forms a powerful export potential which realization stimulates investment processes, both in the agriculture, and in other branches of economy.

It is important also that the agriculture often co-financed non-agricultural spheres (it was especially appreciable during the pre-crisis period). So, in strong farms it is gratuitously assisted to rural establishments of culture, education, public health services. Also there are bases to believe that in scales of the country the sums redirected to these spheres are great enough.

4. Scientific and technical progress.

By introduction of scientific and technical innovations, the agriculture acts as investor of scientific and technical progress. The ecological component plays an important role here.

5. Ecological safety.

Applying scientific and technical achievements, the agriculture is able to make non-polluting food stuffs causing health of citizens, a level of their well-being. Besides scientific and technical progress promotes introduction of most ecologically safe methods of production, realization of rational wildlife management as agricultural sector pollutes an environment very much.

6. Strategic tasks.

One of the components of national safety of the state that historically is always actual for Russia is food safety. Domestic agriculture here again plays the most important role.

Besides the agriculture settles down in extensive territories and provides development of new virgin lands thus provides "supervision" for removed places of native land, carrying out functions of «the night watchman» that is important at geographical extensiveness of Russia. Also the agrarian sector solves problems of population living in the removed territories thanks to the formation of a serving infrastructure there: roads, communication, services.

7. Preservation of a cultural heritage.

The agriculture enables to preserve the customs of agricultural population, its originality and culture as great property of the nation.

8. Sociopolitical tasks.

Finally the condition of agricultural sector causes a sociopolitical atmosphere in the state, forms a basis of stability and authority of government. People with full employment having means of subsistence will not demonstrate the discontent.

Thus the modern agriculture is something the greater than simply sphere of economy. And the matter here is not in share of gross national product or other parameters. The list of the tasks decided by agrarian sector is far for economic frameworks. Here the economy is inseparable from a social life. Morals and traditions frequently run counter to market laws that weaken self-regulation in this sphere. Therefore the state should adjust and in every possible way support agrarian sector. However methods of influence and the form of support should be chosen not only in view of high economic efficiency but also according to interests of the state and all society with orientation to the decision of all complex of the tasks assigned on an agriculture.

The scientific leader is Litvintseva G. P. (Doctor of Economic Sciences, the professor of economic theory department of Novosibirsk State Technical University).