Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut stated that production growth in the agro-industrial complex (AIC) should primarily be achieved through increasing the efficiency of existing enterprises. The Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Ministry of Economic Development, has developed a sectoral program to boost labor productivity in agriculture. By 2030, labor productivity in the sector is expected to rise by 12.6% compared to the 2023 level. The program aims to involve at least 40% of large and medium-sized enterprises.
Key areas include the development of mechanization, digitalization, robotics, genetic potential of plants and animals, improving soil fertility, and implementing lean production. In crop farming, agricultural machinery with autopilot features, agrodrones, and crop monitoring systems are particularly important. In 2026, it is planned to cultivate approximately 12.5 million hectares of fields using machinery with autopilot elements, and over 1 million hectares using agrodrones. The main state support tools for automation and robotics are concessional loans and leasing.
In 2025, 195 contracts worth nearly 27 billion rubles were concluded for these purposes, and since the beginning of 2026, over 60 additional contracts have been signed. Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov noted that over five years, labor productivity in the AIC has grown twice as fast as the national average.