Methodological approach to the polycriteria assessment of agricultural sustainability:

digitalization, international experience, problems, and challenges for higher education in

Russia

Abstract

This chapter developed a proprietary scientific and methodological approach to the polycriteria

assessment of agriculture’s sustainability. The advantage of the new approach is, first, the

possibility for a precise quantitative evaluation of agriculture’s sustainability based on the data of

the official statistics. Second, a systemic consideration of all criteria of agriculture’s

sustainability, including stability, expanded reproduction, circularity, and environmental and

energy efficiency. Third, the largest precision of the assessment results, due to the use of Saaty’s

hierarchy process. This method is used to determine the contribution of various criteria of

agriculture’s sustainability to food security. This allows assigning weight coefficients to the

distinguished criteria, which reflect – quantitatively – their contribution. Due to this, the

sustainability of agriculture correctly describes its contribution to the provision of food security.

The approbation of the developed methodological approach based on various countries of the

world is performed, which allows studying the international experience of sustainable

development of agriculture and determining the disproportion in the sustainability of agriculture

in the world economic system. A systemic contribution of digitalization and higher education to

the sustainability of agriculture is determined, and challenges of the strategy of sustainable

development of agriculture for higher education and the digital economy of Russia are described.
ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. 2

Keywords: sustainability of agriculture, food security, digitalization, international experience,

problems, challenges of higher education, Russia.

Agriculture’s Sustainability Based On The Data Of The Official Statistics

The amount of arable land available is unlikely to change, and as the population rises,

increasing harvests from current assets will become necessary. By 2050, the world's population

will reach 9 billion, up from 7.7 billion today, and food production would need to expand by

over 70% to keep up with the growing population. Without abandoning traditional agricultural

practices, people's ability to develop and exploit arable land would dwindle in the future.

Previously, the emphasis was on using available land and producing as many harvests as was

reasonably possible. There was minimal attention on appropriate harvest generation or land

protection and a comparative lack of emphasis on benefit and financial savings in area and

assets. These two are inextricably linked, and the resulting arrangements will transform

agriculture.

Crop production should be expanded constantly by 60-90 percent by 2050 to meet the

nutritional needs of a future human population. Frameworks for yield development that produce

more food with a higher nutritional content while simultaneously having a more negligible

climatic effect are required. Horticultural advancement in the twentieth century relied heavily on

compost, pesticides, and irrigation systems, all of which came at a tremendous environmental

cost. These changes occurred as a result of the Green Revolution, which provided food security

for a segment of the population. However, the difficulties of the twenty-first century are unique,

and preserving soil and water will be crucial to ensuring food security. Feasible precision

farming and a changing environment will not result in new effects that contribute to the rate of

environmental development. As part of reasonable agribusiness, cutting-edge trimming

frameworks that integrate biologically-based innovations, precision horticulture, and precision

protection should be developed to reduce manure, pesticide, and water inputs while increasing
ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. 4

preservation adequacy to keep up with practical horticulture on the field and maintainability

across a watershed. Yield cultivars with improved nutritional content and resistance to abiotic

stresses should be created using modern breeding biotechnology methods. These better cultivars

will almost probably upend the current condition of the horticultural sector.

In recent years, information technology has been a disruptive force in business,

eradicating market inefficiencies through mechanization and superior choice assistance

apparatuses that require simultaneous consideration of residents and clients. Horticulture, like all

other industries, has been negatively impacted by the constant outages. Regardless, late

calculating propellers, structure, and sophisticated computations indicate that a significant shift

in outlook is imminent, necessitating information flow from multiple sources (Poppe et al.,2013).

The increased interest in food, as well as its enormous biological influence, needs

employment in horticulture. Long-term environmental impacts on practical agriculture should be

examined; data sources and resources should be enhanced. Dynamic cycles of streamlining and

evaluation need familiarity with a limited number of data sources, outputs, and external impacts.

Various frameworks for information security and the board of directors to empower accurate

agribusiness have been designed to that end. Accuracy agriculture is the application of

technologies and standards to enhance the execution of production and natural manageability.

Shrewd farming enhances agribusiness accuracy and dynamic capabilities through the

application of cutting-edge technologies for precise detecting, observing, examining, planning,

and control (Wolfert et al.,2014). Setting, context, and area mindfulness all contribute to the

information's quality. Continuous sensors are used to acquire a variety of data, whereas

continuous actuators are used to adjust the creation bounds instantaneously. There is a significant

requirement for data storage and processing in agricultural creation. Farming groups would
ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. 5

interface with and receive data from a central online program via web administrations. This web

application gathers, stores, and cycles data prior to releasing it to clients or another framework.

Essentially, a few information processing use cases are designed to aid ranchers in managing

their dynamic processes. Continuous innovation, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), enables

computerized data security and, as a result, intelligent agriculture. Numerous tests in brilliant

growing and precision farming have been undertaken recently. Industry 4.0 is now exerting a

tremendous influence on innovative development measures. Industry 4.0 advancements,

including the Internet of Things, big data, edge computing, 3D printing, expanded reality,

community-oriented mechanical technology, information science, distributed computing, digital

actual frameworks, computerized twins, network security, and continuous improvement, are

incorporated into various components of agricultural frameworks.

To recognize functional competence, complete robotization, and high efficiency in these

frameworks, various forms of data are collected from practical frameworks via multiple sensors,

stored in massive data frameworks, and produced using AI and deep learning approaches.

Conventional information management procedures and frameworks are insufficient to manage

this volume of data; hence, large-scale information foundations and frameworks have been

created and deployed (Wolfert et al.,2012). To cope with the intricacies of this vast amount of

data, it is necessary to examine various data components when designing these frameworks. To

date, numerous types of information have been meant for the executives' reference structures.

There are a few strategies for reasonable agriculture that can conserve the environment, raise the

ripeness of the soil, and increase regular assets. Horticulture has been demonstrated to have an

effect on soil disintegration, water quality, human health, and fertilization administration.

Practical agribusiness is vital in this capacity in order to mitigate the negative impacts of
ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. 6

farmland creation. Because each entertainer in this framework has a special responsibility, and

the success of this interaction is highly dependent on the performance of each entertainer,

sustainable horticulture requires an iterative cycle.

The contribution of digitalization and higher education to the sustainability of agriculture

is determined, and challenges of the strategy of sustainable development of agriculture for

higher education and the digital economy of Russia.

Russia has quietly solved its long-standing food deficit problem. The country's

sophisticated agri-food sector is one of the fastest expanding sectors of the public economy. Crop

production is edging closer to historical levels (sunflower, sugar beet). Previously a steady

shipper of staple food items, the country has developed into a key provider to the worldwide

market. Russia is now the world's finest for wheat and buckwheat cuisine and has entered the top

ten harvest countries. Additionally, it has begun shipping domestic animal products and value-

added food products. Significant advancements in the sectors of food quality and security have

occurred in recent years, which have been recognized globally.

State support for agriculture is consistently set at levels comparable to those in the

European Union and the United States, despite the fact that various assistance programs are

largely ineffective at accomplishing their stated objectives (Kheyfets and Chernova, 2019).

There are emerging indicators of incomplete area execution (such as yields per hectare, per head,

and labor efficiency) as well as absolute factor utility (TFP) (Afanasyeva et al.,2021). Production

progresses mainly at the price of increasing factors. Modular manufacturers make use of cutting-

edge technology. Russia ranks in the top third of the world's nations on traditional measures of

food security.
ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. 7

The 1998 emergency, which froze imports and ushered in a rush of domestic investment,

initially in the food industry, then in critical agribusiness and upstream, was a watershed moment

in the region's growth. Thus, the essential factors of development were venture development and

comparing changes in the board's nature. 2008 was a comparable second push. In 2014, the

presentation of authorized adversaries was yet another attempt to secure domestic manufacturers.

By the way, development variables such as speculation and executives have been depleted

almost wholly. Russia's agri-food business is currently being put to the test by new growth

factors, which will be described in greater detail below.

Agriculture is no longer a marginal industry in the modern world; it is now a component

(although a minor one) of food frameworks. Today's competition is built on the development of

novel food products with particular characteristics targeted at specific segments of the market.

Food production has developed into one of the most significant industries on the planet. Russia

urgently needs to develop an innovative strategy for developing its agri-food sector in order to

compete in both the domestic and international commercial industries and to strengthen its

position.

Russian production (particularly agricultural production) is highly variable (the

unpredictability of yields of principal crops surpasses a similar pointer commonly in Canada,

which is like Russia as far as its agri-climatic conditions and extent of agricultural creation). It is

a quantitative measure of mechanical slack. Another evidence of the lack of innovation in

Russian agriculture is the country's extremely high reliance on imported duplicating materials.

To summarize a significant statement made by a government official, it is possible to import all

innovations at a specific period; it is possible to import a few innovations regularly, but it is

impractical to expect to import all creations continuously. As a result, the inventive lagging and

relative decline in sincerity are worsened.

The primary hurdle to rational agriculture expansion in Russia is, unsurprisingly, the

"asset revile": the country's ample land and water assets, as well as relative biodiversity, do not

yet represent a critical demand for conservation. Russia remains the natural benefactor of the

world. By the way, there are currently practical issues that should be addressed in the medium

term.

To begin, there is now an issue with maintaining soil ripeness. There is virtually no

framework in the country for public inspection of soil quality and condition. Their depreciation

must be established through the use of fractional master appraisals (Yakushev and

Yakushev,2018). Simultaneously, privately owned firms' objectively brief organizational

skylines do not persuade them to invest resources in maintaining soil ripeness, which also has a

much extended return period. Similarly, reformist methods to soil treatment and water

conservation improvements are not generally adopted in the country.

Increased utility per hectare has resulted in some progress toward the country's

biodiversity preservation as a result of a reduction in the agricultural production area as a result

of increased utility per hectare. A decision was taken in 2019 to surrender to the state 1 million

hectares of newly removed agricultural land, despite opposition. Accordingly, there would be a

significant increase in ozone-depleting chemical emissions (contrary to our pledges under the

recently concluded Paris Agreement). There would be a substantial loss of biodiversity in the

country. (Serova, 2020).

Second, environmental constraints on agrarian creation have been effectively

implemented in various regions throughout the country. Animal production is coupled with a
ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY. 9

high level of household waste in the Belgorod region, which can enter the underground spring in

the most extreme situation. In several southern locales, the permissible portion of sunflower in

crop revolutions has been surpassed. There is data available on permitted overfishing. Rapid

developments in hydroponics in Russia are not supported by an acceptable level of ecological

sustainability, which could spell the end of the enterprise.

Third, the absence of a public mechanism or even a desire to reduce food loss and waste

is a substantial impediment to achieving reasonable agrarian outcomes. Due to the lack of a

formal authority monitoring FLW in Russia, we must rely on the competent judgments of market

participants. Mistakes in the fundamental components of the agri-food business can account for

up to 40% of the yield, meaning that a diverse array of assets is being used inefficiently. World

experience currently demonstrates a plethora of strategies for minimizing food waste.

Specifically, one of the most widely adopted techniques for decreasing food waste in all

countries worldwide has been the exchange of commodities nearing expiration for good causes.

Russia already has several companies capable of engaging in such transactions, but its tax

assessment framework precludes them.

Fourth, as previously stated, advanced food frameworks should be more targeted to

specific purchaser groups. Throughout the world, including Russia, the progressive working

class is concerned with cost-effective food production processes. Increasing this training is

becoming an inexorably important component of food sector rivalry. At the all-Russian agri-food

forum, the notion of agriculture sustainability was launched. If the brand is positioned correctly

and backed up by governmental measures, it has the potential to become one of the primary

methods of presenting economically viable agriculture in Russia.

References.

Afanasyeva, L., Belousova, L., & Tkacheva, T. (2021). Formation of a system of indicators of

balanced economic development in the context of globalization: space-time analysis in

order to ensure economic security. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 92). EDP Sciences.

Dariusz, K. (2014). "Modernization of agriculture vs sustainable agriculture". Scientific Papers.

Series Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural

Development, 14(1), 171-178.

Kassie, M., Zikhali, P., Manjur, K., & Edwards, S. (2009, August). Adoption of sustainable

agriculture practices: Evidence from a semi‐arid region of Ethiopia. In Natural Resources

Forum (Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 189-198). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Kheyfets, B. A., & Chernova, V. Y. (2019). Sustainable agriculture in Russia: Research on the

dynamics of innovation activity and labor productivity. Entrepreneurship and

Sustainability Issues, 7(2), 814.

Mishra, B., Gyawali, B. R., Paudel, K. P., Poudyal, N. C., Simon, M. F., Dasgupta, S., &

Antonious, G. (2018). Adoption of sustainable agriculture practices among farmers in

Kentucky, USA. Environmental Management, 62(6), 1060-1072.

Nesterenko, N. Y., Pakhomova, N. V., & Richter, K. K. (2020). Sustainable development of

organic agriculture: Strategies of Russia and its regions in context of the application of

digital economy technologies.

Poppe, K. J., Wolfert, S., Verdouw, C., & Verwaart, T. (2013). Information and communication

technology as a driver for change in agri‐food chains. EuroChoices, 12(1), 60-65.

Serova, E. (2020). Challenges for the development of the Russian agricultural sector in the mid-

term. Russian Journal of Economics, 6, 1.

Sundmaeker, H., Verdouw, C. N., Wolfert, J., & Freire, L. P. (2016). Internet of food and farm

2020. In Digitising the industry (Vol. 49, pp. 129-150). River Publishers.

Waga, D. (2013). Environmental conditions’ big data management and cloud computing

analytics for sustainable agriculture. Available at SSRN 2349238.

Wegren, S. K. (2021). Prospects for Sustainable Agriculture in Russia. European

Countryside, 13(1), 193-207.

Wolfert, S., Goense, D., & Sørensen, C. A. G. (2014, April). A future internet collaboration

platform for safe and healthy food from farm to fork. In 2014 annual SRII global

conference (pp. 266-273). IEEE.

Wolfert, J., & Kempenaar, C. O. R. N. É. (2012). The role of ICT for Future Agriculture and the

role of Agriculture for Future ICT.

Yakushev, V. P., & Yakushev, V. V. (2018). Prospects for “Smart Agriculture” in

Russia. Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 88(5), 330-340.