State support of agro-industrial clusters in Russia: Types and challenges[Государственная Поддержка Агропромышленных Кластеров В России: Виды И Проблемы Реализации]

The cluster approach is quite new for Russia, but it plays an important role in the national and regional strategies of social-economic development. Some cluster creation projects are implemented on an initiative basis. The state plays a special role in the development of clusters, creating their institutional environment, organizing the interaction of participants, providing infrastructural and financial support. This applies primarily to agro-industrial clusters, the importance of which increased under the import substitution policy after the coronavirus pandemic and introduction of anti-Russian sanctions. The article considers the concept “agro-industrial cluster”, measures of the state support for agro-industrial clusters and requirements for agro-industrial clusters to get such support. The authors argue that the most important problems for agro-industrial clusters are as follows: too long decision-making at various levels; problems with coordinating the activities of state bodies and public associations; insufficient time for reports on the use of public funds; ambiguous procedures for selecting clusters for funding and wrong choices; blind copying of foreign practices ignoring the features of the Russian economy and its agricultural sector. In conclusion, the authors suggest some directions for solving the identified problems in the state support of agro-industrial clusters.