Agro-industrial complex of Russia and Volgograd region: features of import substitution under sanctions' pressure

Priority areas of import substitution in the agro-industrial complex and their prospects in the face of sanctions pressure, acting as a strategic factor in the development of the Russian economy, require extraordinary decisions from the authorities. The purpose of this article is to analyze the specifics of import substitution in the agro-industrial complex in the country and in the Volgograd region. Modern realities of economic development under sanctions pressure are actively restructuring the activities of agricultural enterprises under new rules. The current situation in the country is considered by representatives of agribusiness and the state not as a period of crisis but, on the contrary, as a prospect for their capabilities’ growth: the range of their own products is expanding, new customers are attracted, and the internal market is aimed at providing quality goods of domestic production. In recent years, there has been an increase in production capacities in the agro-industrial complex. The results of the import substitution process are characterized by positive dynamics. Thus, the production complex for drying vegetables in the Volgograd region is a successful example of the implementation of the import substitution policy and proves the potential of the region in this area. The region has sufficient resources for the development of agriculture in the long term. Timely measures taken to support the industry have stabilized the situation in conditions of geopolitical tension, which allows us to assert the status of the region as one of the flagships of the Russian agro-industrial complex. The significant scale of the involvement of the Russian economy in the global world does not allow the country to avoid import substitution completely. There is no urgent need or the possibility of producing all goods. The question of creating our own technologies, goods, and services that are critically important for the country and could become competitive is being raised. Therefore, in the near future, it is necessary to strengthen the role of the state by finding new qualitypartners, adopting appropriate legislation that ensures sovereignty in this area, and increasing the financial component of support for farmers.