Research on the social functions of trade to support the development of marketability of farm products

In recent years, there has been a problem of reducing the marketability of agricultural products of farms for many types of goods. Among the key food products supplied by farmers, the negative dynamics of sales was noted for the sale of potatoes and vegetables. This situation is largely related to the annual fluctuations in agricultural production, which is especially evident in the cultivation of fruit and vegetable crops. Using econometric modeling based on the construction of regressions based on panel data, the article shows the negative impact of changes in production volumes on the percentage of marketability of farm products. Farmers, like other small-scale enterprises, do not have a developed marketing infrastructure, unlike agricultural organizations. Therefore, farms are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in production volumes, which create for them the problem of lack or excess of resources for sales. An important way to solve this problem is the activity of trade organizations aimed at implementing social functions to support the sale of farm products. In Russia, such social practices are being implemented by the largest representatives of the retail industry in a pilot mode in certain regions of the country. In particular, in some areas, agricultural aggregators are operating, launched by the “X5 Group” and “Magnit” retail chains, which perform technological and marketing functions to ensure the sale of farm goods. There are other social projects of trade organizations, for example, “Agrocontract” and “Farmer›s Island”, initiated by “X5 Group”, which involve the conclusion of direct contracts with farmers in order to reduce the purchase prices of goods and provide for the purchase of various unique goods from farmers. The expansion of the social functions of trade organizations will significantly overcome the existing problems of marketing farm products and provide such farms with sufficient income and profit for further self-development of activities.