State support for agriculture is a crucial tool for adjusting the competitive advantages of agricultural producers to a volatile market environment. In countries with diverse natural conditions for agriculture, however, the allocation of subsidies often focuses on bridging spatial development gaps rather than maximizing the return on inputs. To improve the efficiency of resource use in agriculture, it is essential to tailor subsidy criteria to regional disparities in agricultural potential. Using the example of Russia’s 81 administrative regions, the authors have tested a five-stage methodology for determining the support-generated parameters of output, efficiency, impact, revenue, and profitability. This methodology takes into account both natural and economic factors that contribute to the competitive advantages of each region. The study aims to identify the parts of the performance indicators, such as gross agricultural output and revenue, that are influenced by the amount of subsidies in five different types of territories, which are categorized by the cadastral value of their farmland. It has been found that the allocation of subsidies is not entirely based on the return on the funds allocated. There is a discrepancy between the competitive advantages of these territories in agricultural production and the amount of funds they receive through government support programs. The efficiency of government support differs significantly depending on the type of agricultural product produced in each territory. The approach developed by the authors provides a tool that policy makers can use when tuning the allocation of subsidies based on the differences in the agricultural potential of each territory.

Adepoju, A., Adewole, O., & Olanitori, O. (2023). Migration and livelihood of rural households in Nigeria. Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 5(1), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.5937/wbjae2301073a

Afanas’ev, R., Golovanova, N. (2016). Evaluating the effectiveness of budgetary expenditures: Federal and regional practices. Financial Analytics: Science and Experience, 2, 56–61.

Aliyeva, L., Huseynova, S., Babayeva, S., et al. (2019). Food security and optimal government intervention level in agriculture (comparative analysis). Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 25(2), 12–20.

Altukhov, A. (2020a). Food security in the context of implementation of the new editors of her doctrine. Bulletin of Kursk State Agricultural Academy, 9, 82–90.

Altukhov, A. (2020b). Spatial Development of the Country’s Agriculture: Problems and Possible Solutions. AIC: Economics, Management, 12, 48–55. https://doi.org/10.33305/2012-48

Altukhov, A. (2021). Spatial the agriculture development in the country need an integrated approach. Bulletin of Kursk State Agricultural Academy, 5, 95–103.

Awasthi, M. K. (2014). Socioeconomic determinants of farmland value in India. Land Use Policy, 39, 78–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.04.002

Baráth, L., Fertő, I., & Bojnec, Š. (2020). The Effect of Investment, LFA and Agri‐environmental Subsidies on the Components of Total Factor Productivity: The Case of Slovenian Farms. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 71(3), 853–876. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12374

Baryshnikov, N., Samygin, D., & Murzin, D. (2019). Forecasting bankruptcy models for agrarian business. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 274(1), 012048. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/274/1/012048

Bernini, C., & Galli, F. (2024). Economic and Environmental Efficiency, Subsidies and Spatio-Temporal Effects in Agriculture. Ecological Economics, 218, 108120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108120

Bershitsky, Y. I., Tyupakov, K. E., Sayfetdinova, N. R., et al. (2016). Efficiency of the State Support of Agricultural Producers of Krasnodar Krai. Economics of Agriculture of Russia, 9, 30–36. https://doi.org/10.32651/2070-0288-2016-9-30-36

Bespakhotny, G., Mindrin, A., Tolmanov, V., et al. (2005). Methodology for assessing the effectiveness of the use of budgetary funds in agriculture. Ural State Agricultural Academy.

Božík, M. (2011). Reform of the CAP after 2013 and its impacts on Slovak agriculture. Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská Ekonomika), 57(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.17221/146/2010-agricecon

Buchta, S., & Buchta, T. (2009). Impact of the investment grants from the European funds on the development of agriculture and rural areas. Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská Ekonomika), 55(2), 59–66. https://doi.org/10.17221/584-agricecon

Bykanova, I., & Klochkova, T. (2014). Statistical methods for evaluating the effectiveness of subsidies. Young Scientist, 21, 285–288.

Carbone, J. C., & Rivers, N. (2017). The Impacts of Unilateral Climate Policy on Competitiveness: Evidence from Computable General Equilibrium Models. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 11(1), 24–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rew025

Casolani, N., Nissi, E., Giampaolo, A., et al. (2021). Evaluating the effects of European support measures for Italian organic farms. Land Use Policy, 102, 105225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105225

Chen, K., & Wang, Z. (2022). A Study on the Effects and Influencing Factors of Agricultural Support and Subsidy Policies from Big Data Computing and Analysis. Mobile Information Systems, 2022, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/7873981

Choumert, J., & Phélinas, P. (2015). Determinants of agricultural land values in Argentina. Ecological Economics, 110, 134–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.12.024

Cimpoies, L. (2021). Agricultural support policy in Moldova: A key factor to agricultural development? Scientific Papers. Series Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development, 21(2), 169–176.

Delekh, A. (2015). Quality of land and raw materials potentials as the most important term of state support sharing in agribusiness. Bulletin of Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, 35(2), 129–135.

Donaldson, D. (2019). Comparative advantage and agricultural trade. Agricultural Economics, 50(S1), 29–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12529

Epstein, D. (2012). Determining the effectiveness of subsidies based on basic equations of production. AIC: Economics Management, 5, 40–46.

Erokhin, V., Samygin, D., Tuskov, A., et al. (2023). Mitigating spatial disproportions in agriculture through revealing competitive advantages. Ekonomika Poljoprivrede, 70(4), 1157–1170. https://doi.org/10.59267/ekopolj23041157e

Erokhin, V., Gao, T., & Ivolga, A. (2020). Structural Variations in the Composition of Land Funds at Regional Scales across Russia. Land, 9(6), 201. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9060201

Erokhin, V., Diao, L., & Du, P. (2020). Sustainability-Related Implications of Competitive Advantages in Agricultural Value Chains: Evidence from Central Asia—China Trade and Investment. Sustainability, 12(3), 1117. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031117

Fan, S., Yu, B., Yue, J., et al. (2023). A Study on the Measurement of Comparative Advantage of Land Use Efficiency, Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity and Its Influencing Factors—An Empirical Test from the Panel Data of China’s Provincial Sub-Industry Types. Sustainability, 15(9), 7048. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097048

Federal Service of State Statistics of the Russian Federation. (2024). Statistics. Available online: https://rosstat.gov.ru/statistic (accessed on 2 May 2024).

Fukasaku, K. (1992). Economic regionalisation and intra-industry trade: Pacific-Asian perspectives. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/035300332827.

Galchenko, S., Zdanova, R., Komarov, S., et al. (2020). Improving the methodology of cadastral assessment of agricultural land in order to increase the sustainability. International Agricultural Journal, 63(5), 5–9. https://doi.org/10.24411/2587-6740-2020-15081

Gheorghe, E., Marin, I., Constantin, T., et al. (2022). The impact of agricultural reforms on rural families in Romania. Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 4(1), 65–85. https://doi.org/10.5937/wbjae2201065g

Grover, R. (2016). Mass valuations. Journal of Property Investment & Finance, 34(2), 191–204. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpif-01-2016-0001

Gueringer, A. (2019). Relationship between property and use of agricultural land: the case of the area of Pisa (Tuscany). Développement Durable et Territoires, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.4000/developpementdurable.15060

Hopewell, K. (2016). The accidental agro-power: Constructing comparative advantage in Brazil. New Political Economy, 21(6), 536–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2016.1161014

International Organization for Standardization. (2015). ISO 9000:2015. Quality Management Systems. Fundamentals and Vocabulary. Available online: https://www.iso.org/standard/45481.html (accessed on 2 May 2024).

Janků, J., Sekáč, P., Baráková, J., et al. (2016). Land use analysis in terms of farmland protection in the Czech Republic. Soil and Water Research, 11(1), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.17221/163/2015-swr

Janus, J., & Ertunç, E. (2020). The impact of differences in land fragmentation parameters on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of land consolidation projects. Case studies of Turkey and Poland. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 179, 105813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105813

Jordan, C., Donoso, G., & Speelman, S. (2021). Irrigation subsidy policy in Chile: lessons from the allocation, uneven distribution and water resources implications. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 39(1), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1965964

Jovanović, O., & Zubović, J. (2019). The importance of subsidies for SME development in the agricultural sector of Serbia. Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 1(1), 51–61. https://doi.org/10.5937/wbjae1901051j

Kalinin, A., & Samokhvalov, V. (2020). The effectiveness of financial support for agriculture: An overall assessment and inter-budgetary impact. Problems of Forecasting, 5, 142–152.

Kilić, J., Rogulj, K., & Jajac, N. (2019). Fuzzy expert system for land valuation in land consolidation processes. Croatian Operational Research Review, 10(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.17535/crorr.2019.0009

Konečný, O. (2017). Spatial polarization of agriculture of Czechia during the integration into the European Union. Geografie, 122(3), 257–280. https://doi.org/10.37040/geografie2017122030257

Korableva, A. A., Chupin, R. I., & Kharlamova, M. S. (2018). Аssessment of the impact of resource balance and grainuse on wheat price in the regions of Russia. Perm University Herald, 13(4), 532–548. https://doi.org/10.17072/1994-9960-2018-4-532-548

Kosenchuk, O. V. (2018). Development of rural territories on the basis of price regulation in an agro-cluster. Perm University Herald, 13(2), 196–211. https://doi.org/10.17072/1994-9960-2018-2-196-211

Latruffe, L. (2010). Competitiveness, productivity and efficiency in the agricultural and agri-food sectors. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5km91nkdt6d6-en

Laursen, K. (2015). Revealed comparative advantage and the alternatives as measures of international specialization. Eurasian Business Review, 5(1), 99–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-015-0017-1

Leń, P., Maciąg, M., & Maciąg, K. (2023). Design of an Automated Algorithm for Delimiting Land Use/Soil Valuation Classes as a Tool Supporting Data Processing in the Land Consolidation Procedure. Sustainability, 15(11), 8486. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118486

Liefert, W. M. (2002). Comparative (Dis?) Advantage in Russian Agriculture. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 84(3), 762–767. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8276.00334

Mamatzakis, E., & Staikouras, C. (2020). Common Agriculture Police in the EU, direct payments, solvency and income. Agricultural Finance Review, 80(4), 529–547. https://doi.org/10.1108/afr-04-2019-0047

Matchaya, G. C. (2020). Public spending on agriculture in Southern Africa: Sectoral and intra-sectoral impact and policy implications. Journal of Policy Modeling, 42(6), 1228–1247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2020.05.002

Mironova, I. (2004). Features of the analysis of state support for agricultural enterprises. In: Proceedings of the All-Russia Conference of Young Researchers of the North-West Federal District “Young Researchers for Scientific Support for Agriculture in Modern Times”; 18–21 November 2003; Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University.

Nabokov, V., Skvortsov, E., Sharapova, N., et al. (2021). Main factors of the spatial development in promoting and hindering agriculture robotization in Russia. International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 12(11), 12A11E. https://doi.org/10.14456/ITJEMAST.2021.215.

Nastis, S. A., Papanagiotou, E., Zamanidis, S., et al. (2012). Productive Efficiency of Subsidized Organic Alfalfa Farms. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. https://doi.org/10.22004/AG.ECON.134283

Marques-Perez, I., Mora-Navarro, G., Perez-Salas, J. L., et al. (2017). Agricultural land values using Geographic Information Systems: design location model and tools for information available by geoportal. Application to a Spanish Agricultural Area. Survey Review, 50(363), 545–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/00396265.2017.1350342

Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. (2017). Decree #333 from 7 July 2017 “On approval of the methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of the state program for the development of agriculture and regulation of agricultural products, raw materials and food markets for 2013–2020”. Available online: https://base.garant.ru/71721578/ (accessed on 2 May 2024).

Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. (2005). Decree #145 from 4 July 2005 “On approval of methodological recommendations on the state cadastral assessment of agricultural land”. Available online: https://base.garant.ru/12141374/ (accessed on 2 May 2024).

Nedeljković, D., Zečević, L., & Zečević-Stanojević, O. (2023). The importance of human capital in agribusiness and rural development of Serbia. Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 5(2), 151–162. https://doi.org/10.5937/wbjae2302151n

Pamuković, J. K., Rogulj, K., & Jajac, N. (2020). Assessing the Bonitet of Cadastral Parcels for Land Reallocation in Urban Consolidation. Land, 10(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10010009

Pan, C., Jiang, Y., Wang, M., et al. (2021). How Can Agricultural Corporate Build Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Green Intellectual Capital? A New Environmental Management Approach to Green Agriculture. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15), 7900. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157900

Pellegrina, H. S. (2022). Trade, productivity, and the spatial organization of agriculture: Evidence from Brazil. Journal of Development Economics, 156, 102816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102816

President of the Russian Federation. (1998). Federal Law #45 from 31 July 1998 “Budgetary code of the Russian Federation”. Available online: https://base.garant.ru/12112604/#friends (accessed on 2 May 2024).

Pylypenko, N., Klietsova, N., & Stoianenko, I. (2020). An empirical analysis of competitiveness factors of the region's agrarian sector. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies, 5(5), 128. https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2019-5-5-128-135

Rada, N., Liefert, W., & Liefert, O. (2019). Evaluating Agricultural Productivity and Policy in Russia. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 71(1), 96–117. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12338

Romanov, A., Bezaev, I. (2015). Model building of distribution of state support to optimize security investments. Bulletin of Nizhny Novgorod State Agricultural Academy, 15(1), 48–54.

Romanov, R. (2015). Main directions and methods of state regulation of agricultural production. Agrarian Bulletin of the Urals, 139(9), 97–101.

Samygin, D. Yu., Baryshnikov, N. G., & Mizjurkina, L. A. (2019). Models of Scenario Forecasting of the Region’s Agriculture Development. Economy of Region, 15(3), 865–879. https://doi.org/10.17059/2019-3-18

Samygin, D., & Kudryavtsev, A. (2018). Strategic Instruments of State Support Distribution in the Agrarian Sector. Economic Policy, 13(5), 156–175. https://doi.org/10.18288/1994-5124-2018-5-156-175

Samygin, D., Lunochkin, D., Myakishev, A. (2023). Comparative advantages of the territories of the Russian Federation in the agricultural sector: Database (data on average for 2017–2020). Available online: https://elib.pnzgu.ru/files/eb/doc/zMIVtQe3mJhw.pdf (accessed on 2 May 2024).

Sapozhnikov, P. M., Ogleznev, A. K., Filippova, Yu. N., et al. (2019). Differentiation of the Cadastral Value of Agricultural Lands in Tyumen Oblast. Eurasian Soil Science, 52(11), 1456–1462. https://doi.org/10.1134/s1064229319090072

Seitov, S. K. (2022). Subsidies as a measure to increase factor productivity in agriculture of Russia. Moscow University Economics Bulletin, 6, 100–122. https://doi.org/10.38050/01300105202265

Syomin, A. N., Maltsev, N. V., & Loginov, A. L. (2019). About need of improvement of the assessment mechanism of the state support in agrarian and industrial complex. Economics of Agriculture of Russia, 9, 2–11. https://doi.org/10.32651/199-2

Sharapova, N. (2019). The mechanism of support for agricultural producers in the state regulation system of the industry: Theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects. Talent Pool Foundation.

Shavandina, I., & Rein, A. (2015). Evaluation of the methods increasing the efficiency of resources allocation of agriculture state support. Theory and Practice of Social Development, 18, 74–77.

Shik, O., Serova, E., & Yanbykh, R. (2020). Review of the budget support system for the agricultural sector in Russia. Public Administration Issues, 2, 145–167.

Si, C., Li, Y., & Jiang, W. (2023). Effect of Insurance Subsidies on Agricultural Land-Use. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1493. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021493

Sklenicka, P., Molnarova, K., Pixova, K. C., et al. (2013). Factors affecting farmland prices in the Czech Republic. Land Use Policy, 30(1), 130–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.03.005

Snajberga, O. (2015). Valuation of real estate with easement. Procedia Economics and Finance, 25, 420–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00753-4

Song, B., Zhao, J., & Zhang, P. (2022). A Study on Factors Influencing the Efficiency of Rural Agriculture Financial Support in China. Sustainability, 14(22), 14954. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214954

Stopar, I., & Šubic Kovač, M. (2016). Land valuation in case of easement: the case study in Slovenia. Geodetski Vestnik, 60(04), 685–716. https://doi.org/10.15292/geodetski-vestnik.2016.04.685-716

Subić, J., Nastić, L., & Roljević-Nikolić, S. (2020). Economic effects of investment in dairy farming. Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 2(2), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.5937/wbjae2002135s

Tang, X., Wang, J., Zhang, B., et al. (2017). Application of the DEA on the performance evaluation of the agricultural support policy in China. Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská Ekonomika), 63(11), 510–523. https://doi.org/10.17221/120/2016-agricecon

Tulla, A. F. (2019). Sustainable Rural Development Requires Value-Added Activities Linked with Comparative Advantage: The Case of the Catalan Pyrenees. European Countryside, 11(2), 229–256. https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2019-0012

Tyupakov K (2016). Features of effective formation and reproduction of the technical and technological basis of crop production. Krasnodar State Agrarian University.

Uzun, V. (2017). Restriction of the size of subsidies to one agricultural producer: Need, mechanisms, consequences. AIC: Economics, Management, 11, 12–31. https://doi.org/10.33305/1711-12

Uzun, V., Gataulina, E. (2010). Methodological approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of government support for agricultural producers. All-Russian Institute of Agricultural Problems and Informatics named after A.A. Nikonov.

Uzun, V. Y., Saraykin, V. A., Karlova, N., et al. (2014). Methods of Assessing the Impact of Agricultural Policies on Agricultural Development. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.244420

Wang, S. W., Manjur, B., Kim, J.-G., et al. (2019). Assessing Socio-Economic Impacts of Agricultural Subsidies: A Case Study from Bhutan. Sustainability, 11(12), 3266. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11123266

Warlina, L., Soegoto, E. S., Supatmi, S., et al. (2023). Regional competitive advantage of agriculture as the leading sector in Garut Regency, West Java province, Indonesia. Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research (JEECAR), 10(1), 74–84. https://doi.org/10.15549/jeecar.v10i1.1084

Yan, B., Yan, J., Shi, W., et al. (2019). Study on the comprehensive comparative advantages of pig production and development in China based on geographic information system. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 22(1), 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-019-01772-3

Zhang, S., & Sun, T. (2012). Study on the efficiency of agricultural subsidy policy and its influence factors: An empirical analysis based on survey data of 360 households in Henan province. Journal of Agrotechnical Economics, 12, 68–74.

Zhang, Y., Wang, Y., & Bai, Y. (2019). Knowing and Doing: The Perception of Subsidy Policy and Farmland Transfer. Sustainability, 11(8), 2393. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082393

Zhu, L., Shi, R., Mi, L., et al. (2022). Spatial Distribution and Convergence of Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8786. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148786

Zhu, X., & Lansink, A. O. (2010). Impact of CAP Subsidies on Technical Efficiency of Crop Farms in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 61(3), 545–564. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-9552.2010.00254.x

Zieliński, M., Wrzaszcz, W., Sobierajewska, J., et al. (2024). Development and Effects of Organic Farms in Poland, Taking into Account Their Location in Areas Facing Natural or Other Specific Constraints. Agriculture, 14(2), 297. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020297