Employment in Personal Subsidiary Farms of the South Russian Regions: Results of the Study

Abstract

In modern conditions of new threats that destabilize social interaction, it is necessary to search for those factors that restore its stability of social interaction and increase the food security of society. One of them, in our opinion, is the economic patterns that traditionally exist in rural society. This article discusses one of the rural economic systems-personal subsidiary farms, which not only preserve rural territories, but also continue to provide the population with food, provide a decent level of income for the rural population, contributing to the solution of many life problems. The author analyzes the results of a sociological study conducted in the fall of 2018 in four southern Russian regions – the Republic of Kalmykia, the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, and the Stavropol territory. This is the first large – scale study of rural diversity in the South of Russia. The author analyzes employment in the family-consumer mode, which characterizes the process of reforming the agro-industrial complex and the ongoing structural changes in the agricultural labor market. The questionnaire survey showed that in southern Russian villages, the family-consumer mode (personal subsidiary farms) has not lost its dominance, despite the emergence of such a strong actor as peasant farms, representing the family-business mode and supported by the state. Employment in private farms is primarily due to their economic resources, specialization, including different levels of marketability. The study showed that there is a significant part of the owners who are ready to expand their production, despite the existing difficulties in the socio-economic development of the country, region, or specific village.