Current state of grain production in the Russian Federation and promising areas of development

Relevance. The Russian Federation is one of the largest grain producers in the world, demonstrating stable growth in yields, gross production and exports of grain crops in the last decade. The purpose is to analyze the current state of grain production both in the Russian Federation as a whole and in the context of its federal districts. Individual indicators are presented by the leading regions in grain production. Objectives: to study the factors that have determined the current situation in the grain sector of the country, as well as to consider the most pressing challenges and promising directions for the development of the grain industry in the country; to explore the directions of development of the grain industry, the introduction of new technologies and increasing the competitiveness of Russian grain on the world market. An important feature of the article is the study of the dynamics of grain yields and production volumes not only in recent years, but also in dynamics since 1950, which made it possible to compare the results of the current state of the industry with the pre-reform period. Methodology. The methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis, monographic and retrospective analysis, methods of comparing economic phenomena and processes, methods of abstraction, generalization of analyzed economic information are used. Results: the results of the impact of government programs to support and attract investment in the grain industry are summarized; special attention is paid to the urgent challenges of the future facing the Russian grain sector, in particular, the renewal of the material and technical base, improvement of the grain storage system and its logistics. Conclusions. The final part of the article explains the necessary directions in the development of grain production in the country, aimed at improving the production performance of the grain industry, improving the quality of grain produced and increasing export potential.