Opportunities for Intermediate Technologies in Russian Regional Agriculture

This study hypothesizes that the choice of state strategy for the development of Russia’s agricultural sector should take into account, among other factors, the potential of intermediate technologies. These technologies can serve as a source of demand for incremental innovations in agriculture and help achieve multiple objectives of agricultural policy: mitigating demographic challenges in rural areas, stimulating demand for agricultural land, preventing the depreciation of outdated machinery by extending its productive use, and engaging villagers, including pensioners and teenagers, in productive activities. To support this hypothesis, the study provides a mathematical definition of intermediate technologies, highlighting their key characteristics: low capital intensity and land productivity, high labor intensity, and sufficient competitiveness, which depends on the relative affordability of production factors alternative to capital. Such conditions can be found throughout Russia, in regions with either rural overpopulation or acute labor shortages in agriculture. In regions with labor shortages, dissemination potential is linked to the integration of households into value-added chains. The study identifies conditions under which regional and federal agricultural policy instruments can effectively support projects involving intermediate technologies. Specifically, projects should address urgent rural challenges, integrate into existing or create new value-added chains, establish adequate information and consulting infrastructure, and implement or disseminate incremental innovations.