Index approach to comparative assessment of agricultural sustainability of the subject of the federal district

Abstract

Abstract. The development of agriculture and food security are becoming global today. The domestic agro-industrial complex actually ensures stability, balance of economies and well-being of people on all continents. Therefore, in the conditions of increasing crisis phenomena in the economy, the importance of a comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of the industry's development increases, which should be based on an assessment of the state and trends of changes in natural resource potential, on the study of effective indicators of economic activity and on the development of the main directions and measures to increase its level in the future. The solution of this problem is also relevant for the North Caucasus Federal District, which is a large agricultural region. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to give a comparative assessment of the sustainability of agriculture and to establish the significance of the main factors determining its level in the context of the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District. The research methodology included the use of various methods of economic-mathematical, statistical, index and other methods. Scientific novelty. For the first time, in relation to regional peculiarities, priority factors providing an increase in the sustainability and efficiency of agricultural production for the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District are justified on the basis of the index system. The results of the research have shown that the indicators included in the industry efficiency index have the greatest negative impact on the sustainability of agricultural production in most subjects of the district. At the same time, in the Stavropol Krai, these are the values that form the index of natural and climatic conditions. Nevertheless, the integrated indicator of agricultural sustainability of the region (2,216) significantly exceeds the corresponding indicators of all subjects of the district. The analysis of the level of the final comprehensive indicator of agricultural sustainability on average for 2018–2021 made it possible to eventually group the subjects of the NCFD into three blocks according to the degree of sustainability, identify systemic problems of the industry in each and suggest some ways to solve them.