FARMING IN THE REPUBLIC OF TATARSTAN: ITS ROLE IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS SYSTEM AND DEVELOPMENT TREND

The role and importance of peasant (farm) farms in the country’s agro-industrial complex is determined by the fact that they make a significant contribution to solving issues of ensuring food security, creating new jobs, increasing tax revenues to the federal and regional budgets, etc. In the Republic of Tatarstan, their share in 2022 accounts for more than 11% of all agricultural production in the region, with an average annual number of employees of more than 3.4 thousand people. The index of agricultural production in peasant (farm) farms in 2022 compared to the previous one was 150.7%, which is higher than both in agricultural organizations (143.2%) and in households (105.7%), which, as a result, contributed to an increase in the volume of output of the region’s industry in value by 29.3%. Despite the abnormal weather conditions in 2021, peasant farms have strengthened their position in the production of grain, sunflower seeds and milk. Further increase in agricultural production volumes is not possible without greater intensification of production processes, taking advantage of the digitalization of production to ensure an increase in crop yields and animal productivity. However, small forms of farming in rural areas during the transition to innovative technologies face certain difficulties and limitations: lack of financial resources due to small volumes of product sales; shortage of qualified labor as a result of labor migration to large cities, etc. Therefore, the introduction and application of elements of digital agriculture in farms is slower than in large agricultural formations, which creates uneven conditions for their development. More efficient functioning and development of farming in the region is possible only through the use of new approaches and management methods, the most important among which is the integration and cooperation of small and medium-sized businesses among themselves and with other elements of agribusiness.