Agriculture of Russia. Agriculture as a branch of the world economy

The role and structure of the agro-industrial complex in the economic system of the country

Agro-industrial complex(AIC) unites all sectors of the economy involved in the production of agricultural products, their processing and bringing to the consumer. The importance of the agro-industrial complex lies in providing the country with food and some other consumer goods.

The most common model of the agro-industrial complex usually includes three main areas.

First sphere includes industries that produce means of production for agriculture and industries that process agricultural raw materials: tractor and agricultural engineering, production of equipment for animal husbandry, food and light industry, production of mineral fertilizers, feed and microbiological industries, rural industrial construction.

Second sphere- agriculture proper (agriculture and animal husbandry).

Third sphere- a system of industries for the industrial processing and marketing of agricultural raw materials and food: food, light industry, procurement system, transportation, storage and sale of agricultural products.

The placement of the first and third links of the agro-industrial complex is largely determined by the territorial organization of agricultural production. Processing, warehousing and storage of agricultural products are largely consumer-oriented. The territorial concentration in suburban areas and highly urbanized areas of the production of potatoes, vegetables and other crop products is also due to the activation of households and farmers.

In the 1990s there was a redistribution of agricultural production between large enterprises (former collective farms and state farms), private households and farms. So, if in 1990 on large enterprises 74% of agricultural products were produced, then in 2007 - 44%, i.e. their share decreased almost twice. On the contrary, the share of personal subsidiary plots of the population increased from 20% in 1990 to 49% in 2007. The remaining 7.5% of agricultural production in 2007 was accounted for by private farms.

In 2007, households produced almost 89% of potatoes, about 80% of vegetables, fruits and berries, almost half of meat and milk, and a quarter of eggs.

Agriculture

Agriculture- the most important sphere, which is a complex of industries (agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, forestry, crafts) associated with the development (collection, extraction) of plant and animal resources.

Agriculture is the most important integral part agro-industrial complex(AIC), in which, in addition to farms directly related to the development natural resources, includes manufacturing industries that produce means of production for agriculture (machines, fertilizers, etc.) and process agricultural raw materials into final consumer products. The ratio of these sectors of the agro-industrial complex in developed countries is 15, 35 and 50%, respectively. In most developing countries, the agro-industrial complex is in its infancy and the proportions of its sectors can be defined as 40:20:40, i.e., natural-climatic and living labor remain the dominant factors in agricultural production. Agro-industrial complex of developed countries- these are, as a rule, large commercial farms (plantations, farms, etc.), which make maximum use of modern facilities production at all stages economic activity— from the field to storage, processing and packaging of ready-to-eat products. The intensity of agricultural enterprises in developed countries is determined by significant capital investments per unit area (in Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands - up to $ 10,000 / ha), as well as the widespread use of the achievements of science (biology) and technology.

The development of agriculture depends on the solution of the problems of land ownership and the practiced forms of land use. Unlike other factors of production, land has a number of specific features - immovability as a factor of production, unpredictability (dependence on soil and climatic conditions), limited reserves for expanding agricultural use, productivity limits. Due to these features, the limited (inelastic) supply of land is one of the reasons for the peculiarities of land pricing. Differences in the quality of land lie at the basis of the formation of rental relations.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 78% of the earth's surface is experiencing serious natural limitations for the development of agriculture, 13% of the area is characterized by low productivity, 6% - medium and only 3% - high. Currently, about 11% of the total land area is occupied by arable land. Approximately 24% of all land on the planet is used for animal husbandry. The specifics and severity of agro-resource situations often differ sharply across countries, and within countries, across regions. Therefore, there can be no universal ways solutions to the food problem and overall growth in agricultural productivity.

Progress in development productive forces in agriculture of the world in the 20-30s. 20th century associated with the mechanization of work, in the 40-50s. - selection and chemicalization, in the 60-70s. - the spread of the achievements of the green revolution, from the 80s. - a period of active development and introduction of biotechnology and computerization of agricultural production has come.

At the same time, global agriculture early XXI in. experiencing a number of problems. This is primarily a shortcoming. land resources and the natural limitation of land productivity growth in developed countries and the low productivity of land labor associated with a lack of capital investment in developing regions.

Growth rate agricultural production in the early XXI century. averaged 2-2.5% per year, which significantly exceeded the population growth rate and made it possible to produce products 20-30% more than the volume necessary to meet the countries' domestic needs for food and raw materials. On the contrary, in developing countries, the growth rates of agricultural production, especially food, coincided in value with population growth (2-3%), and per capita in some countries had a downward trend, which contributed to the persistence of the food problem, especially in Tropical Africa.

Branches of agriculture

Agriculture- the most important link in the agro-industrial complex and differs from other sectors of the economy by the seasonal nature of production, the use of land as an object and means of labor, and a strong dependence on natural conditions. It includes agriculture (plant growing) and animal husbandry, closely related to each other, which provide respectively 56 and 44% of agricultural products.

The natural basis of agriculture are land- land used in agriculture. In 2007, the area of agricultural land amounted to 220.6 million hectares, or 12.9% of the country's area, and according to this indicator, our country ranks third in the world after China and the United States. The sown area (arable land) is much smaller: in 2007 it amounted to 76.4 million hectares, or less than 5% of the country's territory. As of the beginning of 2007, the level of provision of agricultural land for the population of Russia per capita was 1.55 ha, including 0.54 ha of arable land. The remaining territories are occupied by forests and shrubs, tundra, mountain ranges, that is, lands that are inconvenient for agriculture.

A significant part of Russia's agricultural land is located in waterlogged or arid regions, subject to wind and water erosion, and some of them ended up in the zone of contamination with radioactive elements after the Chernobyl accident. Thus, almost 3/4 of agricultural land has either already degraded or is at the dangerous line of loss of fertility. This situation is aggravated by a sharp reduction in the supply of mineral fertilizers to agriculture. Therefore, land reclamation plays an increasingly important role - the natural improvement of lands to increase their fertility or general improvement of the area, one of the types of rational nature management.

The total area of fodder lands is more than 70 million hectares, but more than 1/2 of them fall on the share of tundra reindeer pastures, which are characterized by low fodder productivity.

A wide variety of natural landscape zones, different populations led to features of the use of agricultural land: in the steppe and forest-steppe zone with fertile gray soils and chestnut soils, plowing reaches 80% of all agricultural land; in the forest zone - much less; in the foothill areas, vast alpine meadows are combined with small plots of arable land in the valleys and along the slopes of the mountains.

Crop production is the leading branch of agriculture in terms of gross output - 56% in 2007.

The climatic conditions of Russia limit the range of crops that are permissible and cost-effective to cultivate on its territory. High and stable yields can only be obtained in the west of the country's black earth belt and in the western regions of the North Caucasus.

Cereal crops is the leading branch of crop production in Russia. They occupy more than half of the country's cultivated area. Their collection due to impermanence weather conditions from year to year fluctuated from 127 million tons in the most fruitful 1978 and up to 48 million tons in 1998. In the last two decades, there has been a tendency to reduce grain harvests. The average annual gross grain harvest in Russia was (in million tons): 1950s. — 59; 1960s — 84; 1970s — 101; 1980s — 98; 1990s - 76. Nevertheless, in 2007, in terms of grain harvest - 82 million tons - Russia ranked fourth in the world after China, the USA and India.

The average grain yield in Russia is very low - about 20 centners per 1 ha compared to 60-70 centners in the countries Western Europe, which is explained by the difference in agro-climatic conditions and the low culture of domestic agriculture. More than 9/10 of the total collection falls on four crops: wheat (more than half), barley (about a quarter), oats and rye.

Wheat

Wheat- the most important grain crop in Russia. It is sown mainly in the forest-steppe and less arid part of the steppe zone, and the density of crops decreases in the east direction. Two types of wheat are sown in Russia - spring and winter. Given that the yield of winter wheat is twice as high as that of spring wheat, winter wheat is cultivated wherever agro-climatic conditions allow. Therefore, in the western part of the country up to the Volga ( North Caucasus, Central Chernozem region, right bank of the Volga region) winter wheat crops predominate, in the eastern (left bank of the Volga region, Southern Urals, south Western Siberia and the Far East) - spring.

Barley

Barley- the second largest grain crop in Russia, used primarily for the manufacture of concentrated feed for livestock. This is one of the earliest ripening crops that tolerate frost and drought well, so the area of barley cultivation is extensive: it penetrates north, south and southeast further than other grain crops.

oats

oats- primarily a forage crop and is widely used in the feed industry. Distributed in the forest zone in areas with a milder climate, it is also sown in Siberia and the Far East.

Rye

Rye- an important food crop, relatively undemanding to agro-climatic conditions, it needs less heat than winter wheat, and, like oats, it tolerates acidic soils well. Its main area is the Russian Non-Black Earth Region.

All other crops, including rice and corn, are not widely used in domestic crop production due to harsh climatic conditions. Maize crops for grain are concentrated in the North Caucasus - the only region of Russia, which, according to natural conditions, resembles the famous "corn belt" of the United States, in other regions of the country it is cultivated for green fodder and silage. Rice crops are located in the floodplains of the Kuban River, the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and the Khanka lowland.

Industrial crops are a valuable raw material for production food products(sugar, vegetable oils) and many light industry products. They are very demanding on agro-climatic conditions, labor-intensive and material-intensive, and are located in narrowed areas. The most famous fibrous crop in Russia is fiber flax. Its main crops are concentrated in the north-west of the European part of the country. The main oil crop - sunflower - is grown in the forest-steppe and steppe zone of the country (Central Chernozem region, North Caucasus). The main crops of industrial varieties of sugar beet are concentrated in the Central Chernozem Region and the Krasnodar Territory.

The potato is an important food and fodder crop. Crops of this crop are widespread, but the vast majority is concentrated in Central Russia, as well as near cities, where vegetable growing is also developing. Horticulture and viticulture as a large branch of crop production is typical for the southern regions of Russia.

animal husbandry- important component agriculture, which provides less than half of the industry's gross output. Despite a serious drop in production during the years of the economic crisis, today Russia is among the leading countries in the world in terms of livestock production.

The industry reached its maximum level of development in 1987, after which both the number of livestock and the volume of production began to decline. The main value of livestock products is meat. The structure of its production is dominated by beef and veal - 39%, followed by pork - 34%, poultry meat - 24%, lamb and goat meat - 3%. In 2007, the number of cattle, sheep and goats was inferior to 1940.

Number of livestock in Russia at the beginning of the year* (in million heads)

Year	Cattle	including cows.	Pigs	Sheep and goats
1940	28,3	14,3	12,2	46,0
1950	31,5	13,7	10,7	45,7
1960	37,6	17,6	27,1	67,5
1970	49,4	20,4	27,4	63,4
1980	58,6	22,2	36,4	66,9
1987	60,5	21,3	40,2	64,1
2000	27,5	12,9	18,3	14,0
2007	21,5	9,4	16,1	21,0

The development, location and specialization of animal husbandry are determined by the availability of a forage base, which depends on the degree of plowing of land, the composition of forage crops, and the size of pasture resources. In the feed base modern Russia a paradoxical situation has developed: harvesting in terms of calories per unit of livestock products large quantity feed than developed countries, Russia is constantly experiencing an acute shortage of feed, due to the low safety of feed, its inefficient structure (a small proportion of concentrated feed), frequent interruptions in the supply of feed to livestock farms, almost complete disregard for scientific sound proposals on the system of feeding and keeping livestock.

The distribution of animal husbandry is formed under the influence of two main factors: targeting feed base and attraction to the consumer. With the development of urbanization processes and progress in transport, the importance of the second factor in the location of animal husbandry is rapidly increasing. In suburban areas major cities and highly urbanized areas develop dairy farming, pig farming and poultry farming, i.e., the azonality of livestock farming is increasing. However, until now, the orientation towards the forage base (zonal factor) is the determining factor in the location of livestock farming.

The largest branch of animal husbandry is cattle breeding (cattle breeding), the main products of which are milk and meat. Based on their ratio, there are three main areas of cattle breeding:

a) dairy relies on succulent feed and is located in the center of the European part of the country and around cities;
b) dairy and meat uses natural feed and silage and is placed everywhere;
c) meat, dairy and meat products are based on rough and concentrated feed and are represented in the steppes and semi-deserts of the North Caucasus, the Urals, the Volga region, and Siberia.

Pig breeding is a precocious industry and provides 1/3 of the meat. It uses root crops (potatoes, sugar beet), concentrated feed and food waste as feed. It is located in agriculturally developed areas and near large cities.

Sheep breeding provides raw materials for the textile industry and is predominantly developed in semi-deserts and mountainous areas. Fine-wool sheep breeding is represented in the southern steppes of the European part and in the south of Siberia, semi-fine-fleeced - prevails in the European territory of the country and the Far East.

Poultry farming is highly productive and is most developed in the main grain-producing areas and near large cities. Reindeer breeding is the main branch of agriculture in the Far North. In some areas, horse breeding (the North Caucasus, the south of the Urals), downy goat breeding (dry steppes of the Urals), and yak breeding (Altai, Buryatia, Tuva) are of commercial importance.

food industry- the final sphere of the agro-industrial complex. It includes a set of industries producing food flavoring, as well as tobacco products, perfumes and cosmetics. The food industry is distinguished by its ubiquitous location, although the set of its industries in each region is determined by the structure of agriculture, and the volume of production is determined by the population of the given territory and transportation conditions. finished products.

The food industry is closely related to agriculture and includes more than 20 industries that use different raw materials. Some industries use raw materials (sugar, tea, dairy, oil and fat), others use raw materials that have been processed (bakery, confectionery, pasta), others are a combination of the first two (meat, dairy).

Placement of the food industry depends on the availability of raw materials and the consumer. According to the degree of their influence, the following groups of industries can be distinguished.

The first group gravitates toward the regions where raw materials are produced, since the cost of raw materials per unit of output is high here, and transportation is associated with large losses and deterioration in quality. These include sugar, fruit and vegetable canning, oil and fat, tea, butter, salt.

The sugar industry does not fully meet the needs of the Russian population in its products. A significant part of the sugar consumed in Russia is imported from abroad. Our country also imports raw sugar. The highest concentration of domestic sugar factories is in the Central Black Earth region and in the North Caucasus.

A special place in this group is occupied by the fishing industry, which includes the extraction of raw materials (fish, sea animals) and its processing. The catch is dominated by cod, herring, horse mackerel, a significant proportion of salmon and sturgeon. Most of the products of the fishing industry in Russia are produced by the Far East (Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin and Kamchatka regions). The Murmansk, Kaliningrad and Astrakhan regions stand out from other major producers in this industry.

The second group of industries is connected with the places of consumption of finished products and produces perishable goods. This is the baking, confectionery, whole-milk (production of milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, kefir) industries, which are concentrated primarily in highly urbanized areas.

The third group is formed by industries with a simultaneous focus on raw materials and on the consumer. Such a duality of placement is characterized by meat, flour-grinding, dairy.

Currently food industry one of the most dynamic industries in the country, it is distinguished by investment attractiveness, which allows creating a wide network of processing enterprises of small capacity, equipped with modern equipment.

Agriculture is the main source of food and agricultural raw materials in the world. It is designed to meet the growing needs of the population in food products, and the needs of industry in raw materials. Food, as well as its production, distribution, exchange and consumption, are an important part of the functioning of the world system and occupy special place in the world economy and politics. Food is directly related to people's livelihoods, its shortage is perceived as a disaster. The food market determines the state of the economy and the social stability of society, so its development is controlled in all countries.

Agriculture- this is not only the oldest, but also a fairly common occupation of people. Currently, more than 1 billion economically active people are employed in world agriculture. World agriculture accounts for about 5% of the world product.

As an industry, agriculture has certain specifics:

characterized by social heterogeneity and diversity of forms of ownership
the use of land as the main means of production. In agriculture, the land serves not only as the basis for the location of the economy, but is used as a direct resource, the fertility of the land is important
agricultural production is highly dependent on natural conditions. Even in developed countries, the results of agricultural production are unpredictable. Droughts, floods, pests, diseases make the agricultural sector a rather risky industry
seasonality of agricultural production. For this reason, a significant part of the agricultural machinery and labor force is idle for a long time and is under maximum load for short periods.
spatial dispersal of agricultural production, i.e. production is carried out over large areas, which increases transportation costs
living organisms (plants and animals) are used as means of production, which makes it necessary to take into account the biological laws of development. This leads to the expansion of production over time.

One of the most important regularities in the development of the agrarian sector is the strengthening of the integration of agriculture with service industries, resulting in the formation of an agro-industrial complex (AIC).

As you know, the agro-industrial complex includes 4 areas:

industries serving agriculture that supply the means of production. Their main function is to maintain techno economic efficiency agricultural production. These are branches of agricultural engineering, chemical, feed industry, etc.
branches of agriculture - crop production and animal husbandry. They are directly involved in the production of agricultural products.
industries for processing, storage, transportation and marketing of agricultural products. These are the food industry, packaging and warehousing, transport, wholesale and retail. The main task is to bring products to the consumer
infrastructure of the agro-industrial complex - a set various industries, institutions, organizations that ensure the normal, uninterrupted functioning of all parts of the agro-industrial complex. These are various road organizations, credit system, banking network, intermediary, investment companies, etc.

There is no need to talk about the exclusive role of agriculture. Even the ancient Greek scholar Xenophon said that:

“... agriculture is the mother and breadwinner of all other crafts. When agriculture is well managed, all other trades flourish, but when agriculture is neglected, all other trades decline.”

These words have not lost their relevance today.

The development of agriculture in the world is determined by a number of reasons that determine the exceptional role of agricultural production in the world. These functions of the global agricultural sector include the following:

the need to feed an extremely rapidly growing population on the planet, especially in developing countries
the need to strengthen the raw material base of industry. Industrialization, not based on a corresponding expansion of the agrarian basis, with the weakness and instability of the latter, also becomes fragile.
agriculture acts as a supplier of labor and capital for other sectors of the world economy
agriculture serves as a source of currency, and for most developing countries the main one. Such countries are supported only by the export of agricultural goods. For example, in Guatemala it is bananas and coffee, in Chad it is cotton, etc.

The wealth of functions performed by world agriculture places many demands on the industry. And these are not only economic problems, but also the problems of using natural resources, the need to maintain an ecological balance in the environment. It is possible to fully appreciate the importance of agriculture in the global economy only by tracing the main patterns of the long-term development of the industry.

Branches of agriculture: animal husbandry and crop production

There are two main branches of agriculture: animal husbandry and crop production.

animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with the breeding of farm animals for the production of livestock products.

The main branches of animal husbandry:

Cattle breeding - breeding of cattle (cattle).
Pig breeding.
Goat and sheep breeding. These trends are most widely used in steppe zones as well as in mountainous regions.
Horse breeding - provides the national economy with thoroughbred breeding animals, athletic and productive.
Camel breeding - provides the national economy in desert and semi-desert regions with wool and milk.
Reindeer breeding.
Poultry farming.
Fur farming provides the national economy with skins of small fur-bearing animals.
Beekeeping is a branch of agriculture that is engaged in breeding honey bees to obtain honey, beeswax and other products, as well as for the pollination of crops in order to increase their yield.

crop production is the branch of agriculture concerned with the cultivation of cultivated plants. Crop products are used as a source of food for the population, as feed in animal husbandry, as a raw material in many industries (especially in the food, textile, pharmaceutical and perfume industries), as well as for ornamental (floriculture) and many other purposes.

LECTURE PLAN:

The subject and tasks of science. Research methods in agricultural economics
Importance of agriculture in the country's economy
Features of agriculture
Main indicators of economic efficiency of agriculture

1. Subject and tasks of science. Research methods in agricultural economics

The most important task of agriculture is to provide the population of the country with food, and the processing industry with the necessary agricultural raw materials. The solution of this problem is connected with the further intensification of the industry, the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, the improvement of economic relations, the development of various forms of ownership and types of management. The main condition for the increase scientific level economic management, growth initiative and activity in the management of production is the economic training of agricultural professionals. In this regard, the main goal of the course “Rural Economics. economy” is the study of the operation of objective economic laws and the forms of their manifestation in agriculture. Economics studies production relations in the agricultural sector in interconnection with other areas of material production, based on the results of research in natural, technical and other related sciences.

Economics is broadly defined as the totality public relations entered into by people in the production process. Branch economic sciences (the economics of industry, transport, construction, trade, agriculture, etc.) study the features of the manifestation of general economic laws in the sectors of the national economy.

Agricultural Economics (ESA), as a science, studies the operation of objective economic laws and the forums of their manifestation in agricultural production. The economic laws to which agriculture is subject are of an objective nature and operate independently of people's consciousness. Guided by general economic laws, the rural economy. economy reveals the originality of their action in specific conditions, develops ways to use in economic practice.

A system of economic laws operates in agriculture: the law of value, the law of labor productivity growth, the law of expanded reproduction, the law of accumulation.

Accounting and objective use of the action of the entire system of economic laws are aimed at ensuring the growing needs of the population and the free all-round development of all members of society.

ESH, as a branch of science, draws practical conclusions and develops ways to apply and use the basic economic laws in the specific conditions of the development of the agro-industrial complex.

The subject of science "ESH" studies the production relations of people in interdependence and interaction with the development of productive forces. An important task of the subject is to determine the effectiveness of agricultural machinery and equipment used, agrotechnical, technological, reclamation and other measures.

In the context of the development of market relations in economic science, along with the concept of the economy of industries, the concept of ECONOMICS is widely used. From the point of view of studying economic laws, using material resources and meeting the needs of the population, these concepts are close, but not identical. Economics studies production relations in industries National economy(including agriculture) in conjunction with other areas of material production. Economics - in the words of K. McConnell and S. Bru - is the study of people's behavior in the process of production, distribution and consumption wealth and services in the world limited resources. Economics is based on two fundamental facts:

In this regard, absolute material abundance does not seem feasible. The search for options for the efficient use of limited production resources in order to achieve the maximum satisfaction of human material needs is the subject of the science of Economics.

Agricultural economics makes extensive use of data from related preceding and subsequent sciences. An important role in the study of the course is given to the deep assimilation of knowledge of the previous technological (agriculture, crop production, agrochemistry, land reclamation, mechanization and electrification, animal husbandry, storage and processing of agricultural products, vegetable and fruit growing, etc.) and economic (mathematics, political science, economic theory, planning and forecasting in agriculture, distribution of productive forces, computer technology and computer technology, computer science, statistics, regulation and labor protection, accounting) sciences. At the same time, the economics of agriculture, as a branch of science, provides a basis for studying subsequent disciplines of an economic profile, such as: organization of agricultural production, analysis of economic activity, economic and mathematical methods, financing and lending, agricultural production management, international economic relations , entrepreneurship, agricultural markets, etc.

Ways of cognition of the surrounding reality constitute the method of science. The science of ESH is based on the dialectical method, which involves consideration of the development process in a state of continuous movement and change, when each phenomenon is characterized by unity and struggle of opposites, between the old and the new.

Various methods are used to analyze mass economic material. economic research: statistical (correlation, dispersion, index, regression), monographic, economic-mathematical, graphic, calculation-constructive, experimental, abstract-logical, etc.

2. Importance of agriculture in the country's economy

Agriculture is one of the most important branches of the Russian national economy. It produces food for the population of the country, raw materials for the processing industry and provides for other needs of society. The population's demand for consumer goods is covered by agriculture by almost 75%. In 1998, the share of agriculture in the structure of gross domestic product was 6.7%.

The development of agriculture largely determines the standard of living and well-being of the population: the size and structure of nutrition, average per capita income, consumption of goods and services, and social living conditions (Table 1).

Russia's agriculture has always been a donor for other sectors of the economy, a source of replenishment of the national income for solving the country's urgent problems. Behind last years Only due to price disparity, agriculture received less than 185 million rubles, and in 2007 - more than 40 million rubles. The basic national economic proportions and the growth of the entire country's economy largely depend on the state and rate of development of agriculture. In the value of national income, agriculture accounts for 10%, and in the balance sheet profit 7.5%.

Name of product	Consumption rates	1990	1996	1997	1998
Meat and meat products
Milk and dairy products
Fish and fish products	18,2	20,3
Eggs, pcs.
Bread and bread products
Sugar	35,3	47,2
Vegetable oil	13,2	10,2
Potato
Vegetables and gourds
Fruits and berries

Agriculture is the main consumer of the country's material resources: tractors, combines, trucks, fuels and lubricants, and mineral fertilizers. Agriculture in 2007 consumed about 80% of all tractors produced in the country, 65% of grain harvesters, 20% of motor gasoline, almost 23% of the country's production diesel fuel and 20% mineral fertilizers. The share of agriculture accounts for over 13% of the value of Russia's fixed assets.

39.5 million people of Russia live in rural areas, which is 27% of total strength in the country. Of the total number of people employed in the national economy, 63.6 million people. 5.4 million people worked in agriculture, which is 8.4% of the total number of employees in Russia. On average, one person working in agriculture provides work for 5-7 people working in other sectors of the national economy (in the field of material production, construction, processing of agricultural products, etc.).

About 40% of all land in the country is used for agricultural production.

3. Features of agriculture

The same general economic laws apply in agriculture as in other branches of the national economy. However, they are manifested taking into account the specific features of the industry.

A distinctive feature of the development of agriculture is that land is the main means of production here. Compared to other means of production, land does not wear out, and when correct use improves its quality parameters.

In agriculture, living organisms, such as animals and plants, act as means of production. The latter develop on the basis of biological laws. Consequently, the economic process of reproduction is closely intertwined with the natural process of development of living organisms.

Agricultural production is carried out over vast areas and is dispersed over various climatic zones. The final results sometimes largely depend not on the quantity and quality of the resources used, but on the specific conditions in which production is carried out.

The territorial distribution of agricultural production is associated with a large volume of transportation of both manufactured products (grain, potatoes, sugar beets, milk, meat, etc.) and equipment and material resources (fuel, fuels and lubricants, mineral fertilizers).

One of the important features of agriculture is that the products created here take part in the further production process. In agriculture, seeds and planting material (grain, potatoes, etc.), feed, as well as a significant part of the livestock for the restoration and expansion of the herd of animals are used as means of production. All this requires additional material resources for the construction of premises and industrial facilities (animal farms, feed warehouses, storage facilities for seeds and planting material, etc.).

An important feature of agriculture is that here the working period coincides with the period of production. In agriculture, the period of production consists of the time when the process is carried out under the influence of human labor (plowing the soil, tillage, sowing and planting, caring for plants, harvesting, etc.) and when it is carried out directly under the influence of natural factors (growth of cultivated plants, crop formation, etc.).

The discrepancy between the period of production and the working period determines the seasonality of agricultural production. The latter has a significant impact on the organization of production, effective use technology, labor resources and, ultimately, the efficiency of the industry as a whole.

The division of labor, and consequently the specialization of production in agriculture, manifests itself differently than in industry and other branches of the national economy. In order to rationally use land, labor and material resources, it is necessary to achieve an optimal combination of crop production with livestock industries and the development of subsidiary industries and crafts. When improving the social division of labor, it is necessary to take into account the specific conditions in specific regions.

Undoubtedly, one of the main features of agriculture is the level and conditions of use of technology. Due to the fact that in agriculture, as a rule, the instruments of production (machines, combines, agricultural equipment) are moved, and the objects of labor (plants) are in one place, the nature of the technical equipment of agriculture differs significantly from industrial branches. The total need for energy resources is much higher here compared to industries. At the same time, the territorial dispersal of agriculture and the seasonal nature of production require a significant increase in the need of enterprises for machinery and fixed assets of production.

In agriculture, the organization of labor processes in the crop and livestock sectors is built differently. Here, the performer does not have a permanent workplace, as, for example, in industry. In the process of agricultural production, depending on the time of year and the specifics of the cultivated crop, field workers and machine operators perform different kinds works. The machine operator must be able to work on almost all machines and units, and field workers must be able to perform work on preparing seeds and planting material, plant care, fodder preparation, harvesting. At the same time, the type of work can change not only daily, but depending on the conditions and within one working day.

The noted features of agriculture in comparison with industries require a comprehensive analysis and consideration in the formation of the material and technical base of the industry, the organization and management of production, and the determination of the economic efficiency of the use of production resources.

4. Key indicators of the economic efficiency of agriculture

One of the most actual problems further accelerating the development of agriculture in modern conditions is to further improve the efficiency of the industry. Production efficiency is a complex economic category, which reflects the actions of economic laws and manifests the most important aspect of the enterprise's activity - its effectiveness.

When characterizing the economic efficiency of agricultural production, a system of natural and cost indicators is used. Natural performance indicators are crop yields and animal productivity. Natural indicators are the basis for calculating cost indicators: gross and marketable output, gross and net income, profit and profitability of production.

The efficiency of the enterprise reflects, as it were, the synthetic level of success or failure of the entire production and commercial policy of the enterprise and should characterize various aspects of its activities. Therefore, although in the general case, efficiency is understood as the ratio of effect to costs, for a more complete analysis of the activity of an enterprise, it is necessary to analyze various aspects of the financial and economic situation using a system of economic indicators.

For the best and most efficient production economic efficiency should be measured quantitatively using special indicators, however, when measuring it, it is necessary to take into account the value of production potential. The role of economic efficiency indicators is to quantify the content of the criterion.

Currently, many scientists believe that:

1. A general indicator of the economic efficiency of agricultural production should reflect all the main results of production, that is, the volume of production, product quality, costs per unit of output. So, this indicator should be expressed in monetary terms.

Among scientists, there is no consensus on the category of a generalizing indicator of the efficiency of agricultural production. Some propose to use net income in this capacity, others - gross income, and still others - all gross output.

A significant variety of opinions of the authors is also observed regarding the choice of relative indicators of production efficiency, without which it is impossible to analyze the production - financial activities, forecasting and enterprise management.

In our opinion, in accordance with the main methodological and methodological assumptions about the production effect (result) and resources (costs) of production, as well as taking into account the requirements for a generalizing indicator of the economic efficiency of production, such an indicator at the enterprise level in market conditions is: income, net income, profit. At the same time, the presence of a generalizing indicator, such as profit or income, does not exclude, but on the contrary, even suggests the use of other indicators that allow a fuller and deeper reflection of the whole diversity of the content of the economic efficiency of production.

Only on this basis is it possible to find ways to increase agricultural production at a lower cost. There are two concepts for determining the economic efficiency of production - resource and cost. The resource concept allows you to evaluate the efficiency of using the entire mass of production resources used in the production process, and the cost concept - only those consumed in a certain process - part of these resources.

Classification by resources and costs allows you to identify at the expense of which resources or costs savings can be achieved social labor, improve production efficiency. Depending on this classification, the main factors for increasing the economic efficiency of production in terms of resources and costs are: labor, land or material resources.

1. The ratio of the cost of gross output:

to a unit of land area;
per one average annual employee, per 1 man-hour, per 1 man-day;
per 100 rubles of fixed production assets;
per 100 rubles of production costs (the reverse indicator is the cost of production);

2. The ratio of gross income to the same indicators.

3. The ratio of net income and profit:

to a unit of land area;
per one average annual worker;
to the cost of fixed production assets;
to the cost of production of sold (gross) products.

All of the above indicators reflect the level and efficiency of the use of all types of resources and costs involved in the production.

The final indicator of the effectiveness of the functioning of the enterprise is profitability - this is an economic category that expresses the profitability (profitability) of the enterprise.

To assess profitability, indicators of gross and net income, profits are used.

Gross income(VD) is the difference between the cost of gross output (SVP) at current prices and material costs (MZ):

VD = SVP-MZ

net income(BH) is the difference between the cost of gross output (SVP) at current prices and production costs (PZ or IP):

BH \u003d VP - PZ or

BH \u003d VD - OT,

Where OT is labor costs.

Ministry of Agriculture R.F.

FGOU VPO Ural State Agricultural Academy

Department of Agricultural Economics and Management. M.P. Dormidontova

TEST

Discipline: "Agricultural Economics"

Performer: 5th year student

absentee F.T.Zh. code 03-24z

Supervisor: Associate Professor Brylin A.G.

Yekaterinburg 2007

Question #3

Land resourcesurses, their classification and pathsbetter use

The main specific factor of agricultural production is land (natural resources). The earth in general is an indispensable attribute of human existence. And in agriculture, land also acts as an object of labor.

The features of land as an object of labor that distinguish it from other similar objects are:

· absolute immobility of land as a production factor. That is, a land plot cannot be moved in space, used for other purposes (meaning agricultural land, the use of which for other needs is not economically feasible) or replaced by another object of labor;

heterogeneity of individual plots in terms of fertility. At the same time, land fertility is affected both by the natural fertility of the land itself and by objective climatic factors (precipitation, duration of the growing season, etc.);

limited land as an object of production. No means size land plot cannot be increased. The reduction of this site can only be conditional - due to non-use or irrational use of part of the site;

factor eternity. This feature lies in the fact that the size of the land plot is invariable not only in space, but also in time. That is, land as an object of fixed assets is not subject to wear and tear. This does not mean the decrease in soil fertility due to depletion, since it can be restored through the implementation of current costs, and depreciation (or depreciation) is a category related to capital costs (or rather, to their renewal).

Currently, about 10% of all land, that is, about 15 million square meters, is suitable for use as agricultural land on the planet. km. At the same time, about 10% of this area is occupied by arable land, about 17% - by pastures and hayfields, about 23% is occupied by forests, 8% is located on the territory settlements(that is, unsuitable for large-scale agro-industrial use) and, finally, 42% of such lands cannot be fully used for agricultural needs due to insufficient heat or rainfall.

Under these conditions, the need for accurate accounting of lands owned by the state increases in order to monitor the efficiency of their use. IN Russian Federation the role of such an accounting register is performed by the state land cadastre. According to this cadastre, the land fund of Russia is 1,709.8 million hectares (for comparison: the land fund of Canada - 998 million hectares, the USA - 936 million hectares).

The lands of the land fund are distributed as follows:

· land of agricultural enterprises of all forms of ownership -- 656.5 million hectares (38.3%);

· lands of the state forest fund - 844.0 million hectares (49.4%);

· land of the state water fund 19.4 million hectares (1.1%);

· lands of the state reserve - 104.8 million hectares (6.2%);

· lands of settlements - 38.7 million hectares (2.3%);

· land of industrial, transport organizations, resorts and reserves - 46.4 (2.7%).

All agricultural lands of the Russian Federation are divided into two large groups depending on the form of ownership:

· lands that are in collective-share, cooperative and private ownership;

land owned by federal and municipal governments.

On the scale of an agricultural enterprise, it is customary to distinguish between the concepts:

· total land area - the territory assigned to an agricultural enterprise;

· area of agricultural land - part of the total land area used directly for the production of agricultural products.

Question #12

Funding indicatorsexternal production assets

The indicators of security of fixed production assets include: capital ratio and capital-labor ratio.

Funding:

where FROM -cost of fixed assets;

P -area of agricultural land.

In the conditions of a stably functioning economy, the capital ratio indicator provides sufficiently complete information necessary to make a decision on changing the number of fixed assets. In the case when the area of agricultural land differs significantly in different periods, it is necessary to correct the obtained data. For example, if there is a decrease total area of the used land, the capital provision will increase, although there will be no qualitative improvement in the indicator.

capital-labor ratio

where C - cost of fixed assets;

H - the number of production workers.

Here, too, a note is needed regarding the consideration of other economic factors. In the case of a reduction in the volume of agricultural production, the capital-labor ratio increases, but such dynamics of the indicator indicates a decrease in the efficiency of the use of fixed assets, rather than positive trends.

Question #18

Productivitylabor force in agriculture

Living labor, along with fixed capital and variable capital, is one of the main elements of the reproduction process. The features of the reproduction of this element were discussed in detail above. Here it is only necessary to pay attention to the following.

The indicator characterizing the use of living labor is labor productivity. . Moreover, two definitions of this indicator can be equally used:

The number of products produced by one worker per unit of time;

The amount of time it takes to produce a unit of output.

Along with labor productivity, it is customary to use some other indicators called labor standards:

The norm of time is the amount of time required for the production of certain operations, the release of a unit of production, or the implementation of a set of works. This indicator differs from the second definition of labor productivity in that it characterizes the labor costs necessary to reproduce individual elements of the production cycle, while labor productivity can only be assessed by the output of finished products.

Norm output - indicator, inverse to the norm of time, the number of operations, natural units of production or semi-finished products produced per unit of time. As a rule, one work shift is taken as a unit of time when determining this indicator. In order to determine the production rate for a set of works in which several workers are employed performing various operations characterized not only by time standards, but also by technology, enough simple circuit: the time norms are added up, and then the duration of the shift, multiplied by the number of people employed in the complex of works, is divided by the total time norm.

Service rate is an indicator used in planning the staffing of service and support personnel. The most characteristic is its use, for example, in the maintenance of agricultural machinery or the labor of cleaners (in the first case, the norm can be expressed in units or engine power, in the second - in the area being cleaned).

Production of one worker - the ratio of the value of manufactured products (or quantity in physical terms) to the total number of personnel of the organization. It differs from labor productivity in that labor productivity is used almost exclusively in relation to the number of workers - personnel directly involved in the production of products, and when calculating output per worker, both auxiliary and managerial personnel are taken into account. Example rum practical application indicator is a comparison of the growth rate of output per worker with the labor productivity of workers. In the case when output grows at a slower pace (or decreases at a faster pace), an almost unambiguous conclusion can be drawn: the number of non-production personnel increases at a faster rate (with a decrease in production volumes, it decreases less rapidly) than the number of workers . The negative trend is obvious.

A distinctive feature of labor productivity as an indicator that directly affects the volume of output and other key indicators of the financial and economic activity of the organization is that its increase can be achieved solely through intensive (that is, not requiring additional capital investments) measures . At the same time, an increase in wages cannot be considered a sign of extensive development.

Under the planned economy, enterprises were given tasks for increasing labor productivity, and the growth rate of wages was limited. The restriction was either absolute - the growth rate of wages should not exceed the growth rate of labor productivity, or relative - the growth of wages was set as a percentage (naturally, below 100%) of the growth in labor productivity. With the beginning of market reforms, this restriction was lifted. In fairness, it should be noted that until 1996 the restriction was carried out indirectly - through the adjustment of taxable profits when a certain level (four, and later six minimum monthly wages) of wages was exceeded. At the same time, as the experience of carrying out economic activity in market conditions shows, ignoring the relationship between the growth of labor productivity and the growth of its remuneration leads to very negative consequences - the motivation of workers in the quantitative and qualitative results of their labor is sharply reduced, as well as to unreasonable ambitions (due to the lack of a sufficiently clear indicator) of individual workers or groups of workers.

In addition to those listed in agricultural production, specific indicators of labor productivity are used:

The volume of agricultural work performed per unit of time (unit of measurement - hectares per hour or tons per hour). This figure is mixed. When performing some types of work, it is similar to service standards (ha per hour) - the difference is that, in the general case, service standards are used to evaluate the work of auxiliary and service personnel, and in this case we are dealing with an indicator of labor productivity of the main production workers. In the case when the indicator is measured in weight units per unit of time, it may not be about the production of finished products, but about other types of work that are more of an auxiliary nature - for example, sorting vegetables and root crops;

labor costs for the cultivation of 1 ha of agricultural crops (person/hour). This indicator is the reverse of the indicator described in the previous paragraph;

labor costs for servicing 1 head of livestock in animal husbandry (person/hour) - like the previous one, this indicator is, in essence, the norm of the time. It can be of a universal nature - that is, it can be used both to assess the labor of production workers directly involved in animal husbandry, and to analyze the labor costs of all personnel. Of course, in the latter case, the use of the indicator makes sense only in specialized farms (livestock complexes), otherwise it needs to be adjusted for other types of activities, which can hardly be done with a high degree of accuracy;

the load of livestock on a livestock worker (cows for a milkmaid, pigs for a pigger, etc.) (heads) - the indicator can be used to assess the efficiency of the use of labor in various farms or agricultural enterprises of various organizational and legal forms;

labor costs for the performance of certain operations in animal husbandry (hour) - this indicator is a local norm of time and is interesting from the point of view of determining the complex norm of time (for a team or other labor collective), as well as for analyzing labor costs in dynamics or for comparison with other farms.

When calculating labor productivity indicators of agricultural production, some features of the evaluation of finished products should be taken into account. Thus, the calculation of indicators based on the value of gross output seems to be the most accurate for assessing the efficiency of the use of living labor, but to assess the efficiency of production in general, the indicator of sold products should be used. The difference between gross and sold products in agriculture, it is determined by internal turnover (included by most of the methods used in the volume of gross output), as well as by the direction of part of the products obtained for internal use (seed material, milk for feeding calves or piglets, etc.).

In addition, the level of labor productivity can be influenced to a greater extent by objective factors: natural and climatic conditions in the location of the farm, differences in the fertility of individual land plots belonging to the same enterprise, equipment availability and the level of its productivity, etc. Recently, a new factor has appeared that has a significant impact on labor productivity in a particular farm - the level of unemployment in the region in general and the unemployment of agricultural workers in particular. This indicator serves as an additional factor in motivating employees to improve the quality and quantity of products. The method for determining its impact on the level of labor productivity indicators has not yet been developed, however, with a certain degree of accuracy, it can be determined in each particular farm by analyzing data for a number of years.

Question #27

Profit and profitability of agricultural production. Ways to improve them

Profit from the sale of products is considered an indicator of the effect obtained, that is, an absolute indicator. At the same time, the profit itself can actually be considered an indicator of efficiency, since both costs and the effect in the form of sales proceeds are involved in its calculation.

However, of much greater interest are indicators that are derivatives of profit - profitability indicators. In general, the very concept of profitability suggests that the numerator of the corresponding formula should contain profit (for unprofitable enterprises, this may be a decrease in the cost level). The use of various data as a denominator makes it possible to identify the influence of various factors on the amount of profit received. The total number of profitability indicators used in various calculations reaches two dozen. But there are three main ones.

Product profitability:

where FROM- the cost of agricultural products.

Profitability of fixed assets and normalized (material) working capital:

where ABOUT bFROM - average balances of material working capital.

Return on investment in the enterprise:

where BUT- the value of all property (assets) of the enterprise.

Each indicator can be calculated from balance sheet profit (total profitability) and from net profit, minus obligatory payments to the budget, extra-budgetary funds, etc. (estimated profitability).

In practice (in joint-stock companies and limited liability companies) it is useful to calculate the profitability index of net assets - the ratio of profit to the sum of the net assets of the enterprise (assets secured by own funds).

In addition, the rate of return is often used as an indicator of the use of equity -- the ratio of profit (book or net) to advanced capital. This indicator differs from profitability indicators in that profit is correlated not with the value of property (assets), but with the sources of their acquisition (liabilities). In some cases, the rate of profit may be numerically equal. But their economic meaning remains different.

Since the main goal of creating any commercial enterprise is the systematic profit, it seems quite logical for the purposeful activity of the business entity to increase the size of this profit. As a rule, this activity consists in the development and implementation of various technical, organizational and organizational-technical measures aimed at reducing the cost of production and improving its technology. Indicators of the economic efficiency of the enterprise cannot give an exhaustive idea of the factors due to which certain changes occurred or certain trends were outlined. In this case, it becomes necessary to calculate and analyze more detailed indicators that characterize the effectiveness of specific measures.

Question #39

Performance indicatorsand production of forage crops

Feed production, unlike other branches of crop production, whose products can be used both as food and as fodder, is focused exclusively on use in animal husbandry. This determines the main feature of fodder production - its focus on consumer demand. Optimal, apparently, should be considered the organization of fodder production by the same enterprises that are engaged in raising productive livestock. In accordance with this, the efficiency of fodder production in such farms can be assessed indirectly - through the analysis of increasing the productivity of livestock.

It is customary to distinguish between two types of feed - supporting and productive. Supporting feeds ensure the vital activity and working capacity of working livestock, as well as the vital functions of animals belonging to productive livestock. Productive feeds are feeds that are fed to productive animals in excess of the needs provided by maintenance feeds. Thus, the efficiency of fodder production is the higher, the lower the cost of growing one feed unit, which allows, ceteris paribus, to achieve the same increase in productivity (cattle milk yield, pig livestock gain, etc.).

It hardly makes sense to analyze the economic efficiency of fodder production in terms of supporting feeds for working livestock, since in terms of their economic content these feeds are materials used in the production process, and within one enterprise. Of particular interest may be only an estimate of the labor costs for the production of a unit of such feed over a number of years.

As for the feed used to obtain weight gain and increase milk yield, here the assessment of the economic efficiency of feed production can be very useful for improving production efficiency in general.

Along with the usual indicators for crop production (yield, cost, labor productivity, etc.), the following indicators are additionally calculated in fodder production:

· technical payback of fodder -- the output of livestock products (in physical terms) per feed unit (in centners);

· economic payback -- the sum of gross livestock production for the total cost of feed production. In this case, it can be useful to calculate the ratio of sold (or produced) livestock products and the cost of feed without taking into account domestic consumption (for feed of draft animals).

In addition to these indicators, good results are obtained by analyzing the structure of feed - the ratio of coarse and succulent with their detail (hay, silage, fodder beets, etc.). It is very likely that as a result of such an analysis, effective zoo-technical solutions can be developed that allow minimizing costs while increasing the quantity and quality of livestock products.

In general, it should be noted that the production of feed in Russia is still an underdeveloped branch of agriculture. Therefore, when determining the priorities of state support for agriculture, the list of measures for the development of fodder production is the most extensive. The following are defined as the main directions for improving the efficiency of fodder production:

· radical improvement and rational use of natural fodder lands;

· improvement of species and varietal structure of crops of field forage crops and increase in their productivity;

· reduction of crop losses due to the introduction of advanced fodder harvesting technologies;

· strengthening the material and technical base of feed storage;

· Ensuring rapid growth in the production of legumes and oilseeds;

Improving the nutritional value of rough and succulent feed;

· increase in the production of animal feed and premixes;

· Improving the system of commercial seed production of grasses, primarily legumes.

One of the main tasks of fodder production remains the elimination of the imbalance in animal feed rations for protein, which requires the expansion of crops. perennial herbs, annual grass-legume grass mixtures, an increase in the sowing of legumes and their mixtures, an increase in the sowing of early-ripening corn hybrids, an increase in the production of high-protein raw materials (cake, meal, animal feed, etc.), as well as high-protein feed additives.

1. Popov I.A. "The Economics of Agriculture" publishing house: "Business and Service" M.-2001.

Agriculture is a supplier of raw materials for many industries and a major food producer. These functions will remain with him in the foreseeable future, despite the rapid scientific and technological progress. On the contrary, as the population grows, the role and importance of agriculture, especially in food production, will increase.

The level of agricultural production largely determines the state of the national economy. As a rule, industrialized and economically strong states have a well-developed agriculture. Currently, in our country, two-thirds of the population's consumption is met by agricultural production. Half of agricultural output is used to supply raw materials to a number of important branches of industry, primarily light and food industries (oil seeds, vegetable fibers, sugar beets, etc.).

Agricultural production consists of two major main branches: crop production (agriculture) and animal husbandry. In crop production, production is based on the cultivation of plants and the use of soil as a habitat and nutrient medium for these plants. In animal husbandry, the production process is based on the cultivation of animals, the use of their vital functions. With land, soil quality, animal husbandry is connected mainly through the production of feed.

Agriculture based on the use of plants and soil as indispensable means of production. Only a plant is capable of capturing the light energy of the sun and converting it into potential energy of organic matter. Being the main and irreplaceable producer of organic matter, green plant occupies a lower position in any ecological system. So, in the scheme of the ecological system - Elton stairs- the plant is at the bottom step, followed by consumers (consumers) - herbivores, predators of the first, second and higher order, surrounded by decomposers. In this order, consumers live off the energy and food stored by plants, losing about 90% of their energy with each transition to a higher level.

Thus, agriculture is, as it were, the primary, and animal husbandry, the secondary workshop of agricultural production, where plant products are utilized into high-calorie products and valuable industrial raw materials. At the same time, animal waste, mainly manure, serves as an important means of increasing soil fertility, even with a developed production of mineral fertilizers.

The industrialization of agriculture and the acceleration of scientific and technological progress significantly change the relationship between agriculture and animal husbandry. Deepening the specialization of animal husbandry, transferring it to industrial basis, industrial restructuring of fodder production creates opportunities for the organization of specialized livestock enterprises operating on imported feed. On the other hand, the growth in the use of mineral fertilizers somewhat reduces the role of animal waste as a source of nutrients for plants.

On the ratio in agriculture of two major industries- crop and livestock - affects the changing needs of the population in agricultural raw materials, various food products of plant and animal origin. With the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, the range of consumer goods is expanding, the demand for various goods made from certain types of agricultural raw materials is changing. Substitutes appear different types agricultural products, both in the production of consumer goods from it, and in its use for technical needs.

With the development of agricultural production as a branch of the economy, the concept of "agriculture" has changed. IN early period development, it was identified with agriculture. After livestock breeding was singled out as an independent branch, the concept of "agriculture" began to include only crop farming. Agriculture as a science is divided into two large sections - general agriculture, where measures common to all crops are studied for tillage, weed control, crop rotation, etc., and private agriculture, or plant growing, where the diversity of forms and varieties of agricultural plants, the features of their biology and the most advanced methods of growing them are studied.

The term " Private farming” was introduced as opposed to the term “general agriculture” and is now practically not used, and instead of the term “general agriculture”, simply “agriculture” is more often used. According to GOST approved in 1980, agriculture is a plant-growing industry based on the use of land for growing crops. The task of crop production is to grow green plants; Depending on the purpose and biological characteristics of the cultivated crops, crop production is divided into field farming, meadow growing, vegetable growing, fruit growing, and forestry. The term "agriculture" is applied to the crop-growing branches connected with tillage of the soil, mainly to field cultivation. Field farming can specialize in the cultivation of one or a small set of agricultural crops: grain farming, cotton growing, flax growing, etc. An important task of field farming, especially in the southern regions, is the production of animal feed. Agriculture is most of all connected with the use of arable land, but the effective use of arable land to a large extent depends on the nature of the use of other lands, including meadows and pastures.