The agriculture of Volgograd region: modern trends and prospects for growth

The article is devoted to analyzing the current state of agriculture in Volgograd region and identifying the problems that impede successful functioning of a number of branches included in its structure. Currently, the strategy for developing the Russian agro-industrial complex is set out in the “State Program for Developing Agriculture and Regulating Agricultural Products, Raw Materials and Food Markets for 2013-2020” adopted by the Government in 2012. This document set the following main tasks for the domestic agriculture: ensuring food security and accelerated import substitution of meat, dairy products, vegetables, potatoes, etc. The analysis carried out in the article showed that the greatest success in the region was achieved in the production of crop products. Volgograd region is one of the leaders in cropping vegetables, grain crops, and sunflower seeds not only in the Southern Federal District, but also in Russia as a whole. At the same time, the region lags far behind other agricultural regions in producing the most important food products such as milk and meat.The accumulated problems have a negative impact on the development of agriculture. Among them, one should highlight low productivity of a hectare of land due to the decrease in soil fertility. Another serious problem remains the extremely low material and technical equipment status of agricultural production. The author sees the way out of this situation, first of all, in the active state support of local agricultural producers. Such support has been carried out in Volgograd region in recent years and is already yielding results.