State of the Vologda oblast agriculture in farmers’ estimates: results of 2019

Agriculture is one of the strategically important sectors of the Vologda Oblast providing employment for a significant proportion of the rural population, economic development, supporting food security in the region, as well as stimulating the socio-economic development of rural areas. These facts determine the need for a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the industry state which should be the basis of the current agricultural policy. If the main advantage of quantitative assessment is that it is considered more objective (therefore it is more often used in testing hypotheses and forecasting), then qualitative assessment allows better understanding the causes and properties of the phenomena. Employees of the Vologda Research Center of RAS have been conducting questionnaire surveys of heads of agricultural organizations, heads of farms since 1992, in order to qualitatively assess the problems and prospects for the industry development. The article presents some results of monitoringthe functioning of the region’s agriculture in 2020. Thus, among the positive trends in the industry, we should note the following ones: growth in gross production and sales of agricultural products, production intensification, a satisfactory staffing, etc. Among the negative phenomena, the author highlights a decrease in acreage and production volumes of crop production since 2015, insufficient level of capital investment for expanded reproduction, weak farmers’ interest in cooperation, etc. The significance of the research is to update data on the current agriculture state and the possibility of their use by regional authorities and local self-government when adjusting support measures and directions for the industry development, as well as by researchers, heads of economic entities and other stakeholders in a comprehensive assessment of agriculture in the Vologda Oblast.