THE ROLE OF STARTUPS IN THE INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The article discusses technological solutions for the agro-industrial complex, which are launched on the market according to the startup business model. The share of successful developments among startups is lower than in the IT industry as a whole. A systematic approach is needed to select projects for government support programs using an integral criterion based on both the likelihood of success and an assessment of the relevance of the solution in the industry. The agricultural industry acts as a catch-up industry on the path of technological and innovative development, and this is typical not only for Russia. The low level of equipment and development of its own IT departments in the agro-industrial complex does not allow the development and refinement of software for specific business tasks. Only large agricultural holdings can afford insourcing and inhouse developments. Therefore, one of the options for saturating the market with specialized digital products for key processes in the agricultural industry is to support startups focused on developing the software needed by the industry. State support for startups with incorrectly configured selection procedures may not have the effect on the digital transformation of the agricultural industry that was expected during its development. Updating the selection criteria based on the analysis of previous program results and the introduction of corrective actions and procedures will improve the program’s performance and result in truly sought-after software solutions.