Comparative assessment of effectiveness of reclaimed agriculture in the regions of Russia

Foreign experience in assessing the efficiency of reclaimed agriculture has shown its importance for densely populated and developed countries with intensive methods of increasing efficiency. On the basis of Russian studies and sectoral methodological documents, the article formulates the basic principles of assessment, proposes the methodological approach and performs the comparative assessment of the efficiency of reclaimed agriculture in Russia’s regions. Using the key indicator of efficiency, the labor productivity in crop production of 78 regions of the RF was evaluated for 2020-2022, a high degree of its interregional differentiation was established. The leading regions with a high level of productivity are Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Orel, Tambov, Astrakhan regions, Krasnodar Territory, etc., the regions that are significantly inferior to the leaders and the average in the RF include the Stavropol and Altai Territories, the Volgograd and Saratov regions that have a high national importance of crop production (contribution to the all-Russian production is more than 2.5%). The authors have constructed a two-factor grouping of regions, which simultaneously characterizes the comparative level of labor productivity in crop production and the level of land reclamation in regions, which confirmed that most regions need a significant expansion of reclaimed agriculture to realize the potential for productivity growth. A comparative assessment of the financial condition of organizations in crop production is carried out with the identification of leading and outsider regions. Regions with high national importance of land reclamation have been identified. A high level of land reclamation was noted for regions that are not the main producers in crop production. The necessity of targeted state support for reclamation activities for regions with favorable natural and climatic conditions, but with low profitability of agricultural organizations is substantiated.