Shkarupa E.A. Digitalization of Agro-Industrial Complex: Results, Problems, Directions of Development
Ekaterina A. Shkarupa
Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russian Federation
Abstract. New large-scale agricultural development plans are associated with digitalization, which has become a global trend that sets a new paradigm for the development of Russian economy. The need to develop this study area predetermined the relevance and significance of the implementation of the departmental project “Digital Agriculture.” The article presents the directions of the transformation of agriculture in the conditions of digitalization and systematizes the results of the ongoing questionnaire on this issue. This fact became the basis for the identification of barriers in the industry and points of its development in this context. The paper analyses the existing digital technologies for agriculture. Special attention is paid to accurate agriculture and robotization, the advantages and effects of using them for agricultural production are shown. The study presents the results of a survey in the regions of Russia on the possibilities of using some elements of precision agriculture in the Southern Federal District. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the adoption and application of digital technologies. The symbiosis of the digital ecosystem of JSC “Rosselkhozbank” and the leading developer and integrator of digital solutions for the agro-industrial complex APK “IntTerra” created the conditions for appropriate activities for agribusiness through remote technologies. The study states urgent problems of the development and implementation of digital economy in agriculture: a low level of digital infrastructure development in the countryside, a rather low level of staffing, insufficient or complete lack of financial resources in the vast majority of agricultural producers for the introduction of technologies, lack or inefficiency of regional and municipal programs for agribusiness support that introduce digital technologies. The challenges that IT developers face are shown in this article. Priority areas of improvement of policy dealing with agro-industrial complex digitalization are suggested.
Key words: digitalization, digital solutions, digital platforms, digital technologies, digital infrastructure, departmental project, precision farming, robotization, subsidization, lending.
Citation. Shkarupa E.A., 2020. Digitalization of Agro-Industrial Complex: Results, Problems, Directions of Development. Regionalnaya ekonomika. Yug Rossii [Regional Economy. South of Russia], vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 144-153. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/re.volsu.2020.4.13
Attachments: /eng/contacts/1_Shkarupa.pmd..pdf