Transformations in Agricultural Structures and Modifications in Agricultural Markets: Regional Aspects

Abstract

The paper systematizes the main features of the agricultural structure. Additionally, it identifies the following subspecies of the agricultural structure: sectoral, territorial, organizational, and economic structures, the structure of commodity circulation, and resource and competitive potentials. These subspecies influence the development of production and the functioning of the food market. The paper reveals the content of the concept of “agricultural structure” and offers a methodological approach to its assessment through structural changes analysis. The particular and general indicators of structural changes (mass, index, and efficiency) are defined. Structural shift indices for 1990–2017 were calculated as a result of the analysis of the sectoral structure of agriculture in the Voronezh region. According to the results of calculations and assessments of the agricultural structure, several periods are highlighted. The first period from 1990 to 2000 is marked with the stagnation of production, market imbalance, and low efficiency of the agricultural structure. The second period from 2001 to 2010 is marked with a decline in production, a reduction in market capacity, and the inefficiency of the agricultural structure. The third period from 2011 to 2017 is marked with an improvement in agricultural production, an increase in the capacity and saturation of the regional markets of the Central Black Earth macroregion, and an improvement in the agricultural structure. To study the impact of agricultural structures on the functioning of the agricultural market, the authors assessed the meat segment. The assessment is given for the regions of the Central Black Earth macroregion (Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, and Tambov regions) from 1990 to 2017. As a result of the assessment of the consumption of meat and meat products, a modification of local markets is shown. The best indicators were noted in the Belgorod region, which has the optimal agrarian structure among the regions. In 2017, the share of livestock in regional agricultural production was 69.3%. The study of the impact of sectoral and territorial structural changes indicates a close correlation with the volume of food consumption and the effectiveness of agri-food markets.