Comparative assessment of the success of crop production in the leading agricultural regions of the Central and the Volga Federal Districts

The article examines the main conditions and trends in the development of crop production in the agro-specialized regions of the Central Federal District and the Volga Federal District based on their grouping by territorial basis. Despite the fact that the regions of the South remain the leading area of crop cultivation, today production in the Volga and Central Black-Earth regions is also of great importance, which today make a significant contribution to the provision of agricultural raw materials and products. For the purposes of the study, the dynamics of the main parameters of crop production development in the regions of the Central Federal District and the Volga Federal District of Russia in the period 2020-2024 was considered using methods of horizontal and vertical analysis, data mining and comparative evaluation. The regions of the above-mentioned federal districts that make the greatest contribution to the development of crop production in Russia were selected as the object of research. The selection criterion was the region's share of the sown area in Russia of more than 1.5%. For the purposes of the study, a hypothesis was formed that crop production is developing intensively in the regions of the Central Federal District, which determines high economic profitability, and extensively in the regions of the Volga Federal District. It was found that in both districts, only 6 regions make a significant contribution to the development of this area and have a share in the structure of crops of more than 1.5% each. A comparison of the main parameters of crop production development between the formed groups of regions by territorial affiliation showed that in the Volga Federal District the sown areas are on average larger than in the regions of the Central Federal District, but at the same time they are inferior to the latter in terms of crop production, which indicates less efficient use of resources. A comparative assessment allowed us to confirm the hypothesis that in the agro-specialized regions of the Central Federal District, the development of crop production takes place on the basis of the most efficient use of land, and therefore the main methods of production intensification are used. In the regions of the Volga Federal District, where the size of the land used in agriculture is larger and the level of land fertility is lower, crop production is developing along an extensive path.