Structural Shifts and Reform of the Agrarian Sector of the Russian Economy under the Conditions of the Import Substitution Policy

Abstract

The paper deals with international and Russian structural problems in agriculture. The objective of the paper is the research of structural changes in the agricultural sector of Russia and their change under the effect of the 'sectoral' sanctions and the food commodity import substitution policy. The theoretical base for this paper has become the works of the scientists dealing with the problems of the structural economic development at the macro level. The nature of the structural shifts in the Russian agrarian sector was discovered, as well as the disproportions in development of different countries, especially those producing the threat to the food supply security and thus the economic safety of the states. The authors have studied the structure of the main commodity groups influencing the solution of the import substitution problem; computed the basic indicators of the corresponding structural shifts; and highlighted the most efficient groups of the agricultural producers. Also, the paper represents the econometric model of the structural shifts and the assessment of the level of self-sufficiency with agricultural production in Russia. The research has been conducted based on the methodology of structural analysis represented in the scientific pursuits of the foreign and national scientists. It also contains the conclusion about the necessity of strengthening the structural policy in the animal husbandry. In particular, import substitution in the sub-branches of the agriculture and food industry should be combined with the export development in the other spheres (based on the methodology of full and efficient use of the available agricultural potential).