Provision of Russia with agricultural lands and their use efficiency

The purpose of the study is to assess the provision of agricultural land in Russia, to determine the level of efficiency of their use and to outline the main directions for increasing their productivity. Research was carried out using inductive, deductive methods of cognition, traditional methods of economic analysis: comparison; groupings; calculating absolute, relative and average values; tabular and graphical method of processing statistical data. The study presents the technique of generalized assessment of the efficiency of agricultural land use and gives a comparative assessment of the provision of land in Russia and a number of foreign countries. The efficiency of the use of domestic agricultural land has been determined, which is significantly differentiated in the regions of Russia and tends to decrease, especially in areas with extreme natural conditions. This, coupled with economic factors, makes it difficult to use the land efficiently. Based on the results of the assessment and analysis, priority measures were proposed to increase the level of land use efficiency: 1) streamlining and updating the federal and regional regulatory framework in the field of land use, forming the foundations of strategic state management of the process of using and protecting land resources, strengthening control over compliance with the requirements of land legislation and tightening sanctions against violators; 2) monitoring the state of land and inventory of all farmland with their delimitation (federal, regional, municipal, legal entities, common property - shared, joint); 3) acceptance by the state of increased responsibility and the obligation to take on a climatically unfavorable load (in regions with extreme natural conditions), since land, as a natural resource, under any form of ownership remains a national treasure; 4) providing large agricultural producers with stable land use for the development of production as a guarantee of food supply and the socio-economic support of small forms of farming; 5) providing support to farms in the renewal and modernization of fixed assets, the use of technologies that reduce the degree of salinization and waterlogging of soils, and reclamation construction aimed at preventing water and wind erosion. Research materials can be useful in developing management decisions in the framework of agri-food policy.