The agricultural sector of economy of the arctic territories of Russia (case study of the Komi Republic)

Problems of agriculture of Arctic and northern territories of Russia are considered in the general context of food provision of the world's population taking into account decreasing fertility of the cultivated land, growth of the population, necessity of growth of incomes of nowadays poor and middle-class people. Food security of Russia consists in not that the share of import of foodstuffs is now high, but in high probability of redistribution of the worldwide food fund in favour of the countries of "the starving people". The second aspect of security is poor quality of food (both imported, and domestic) owing to backward agroculture and infringement of technological norms of agricultural raw materials processing.All land resources having agrarian potential, it is necessary to put in order and to use rationally with orientation to the geographical division of labour. In this order there is a place for the North and the Arctic regions which is potentially characterized as follows: 1) high level of marketability of reindeer breeding, fishery, traditional crafts, gathering and processing of mushrooms, berries and medicinal herbs; 2) formation of agricultural areas, including territories of tundra, forest-tundra and northern taiga which cumulative resources are sufficient for cultivation of ecological potatoes and vegetables, fodder grasses, milk and meat production: 3) creation of rear food bases in the "classical" agricultural regions within the organizational structure of northern and Arctic industrial corporations.Northern reindeer breeding becomes more and more problematic because of decrease in efficiency of pastures, their bogging and overgrowing with grass andbushes. There is required some kind of a layout concerning the large areas of tundra and forest-tundra for rational use and reproduction of mosses and lichens. Foodstuffs problems in the North and Arctic regions are also connected with redistribution of power resources in favour of hothouses and gasification ofvillages and other small settlements.