AGRICULTURE AS A KEY ELEMENT OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The article aims to analyze the role and position of the agricultural sector within the contemporary socio-economic system of the Russian Federation. Particular attention is paid to its contribution to employment, regional development, gross domestic product (GDP), and exports. The main tasks include assessing structural changes in agriculture over the examined period (2015–2022) and the size of the workforce employed, determining the agricultural sector’s contribution to GDP, and investigating the factors driving the growth of agricultural exports. The methodological foundation is built on the application of quantitative and qualitative analysis. During the research, methods such as comparative analysis of time series were used to evaluate employment and gross output volumes, structural analysis to determine the contribution of different categories of agricultural producers to agricultural production, and factor analysis to identify the causes of the observed trends. The source of data was official statistics from the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). The research results revealed a steady decline in the number of people employed in the sector (from 4.9 million people in 2015 to 3.3 million in 2022), influenced by technological modernization, production automation, and urbanization. However, agriculture retained a significant share in GDP (4.3% in 2022), demonstrated substantial production growth (an eightfold increase over 20 years in monetary terms), and export expansion (a 12.2% increase). The restructuring of logistics chains and the expansion of the geography of trading partners to 160 countries facilitated export growth and enabled the adaptation of the Russian Federation’s economy to external challenges. The technological development of the sector and active state support played an important role. Modern agriculture is a strategically important stabilizer of the Russian Federation’s economy and social sphere. Furthermore, the sector ensures the country’s food independence, provides income for rural territories, and strengthens the Russian Federation’s position on the global market.