Sociological Assessment and Modeling of Socio-economic Problems of the Agrarian Sector in Drylands

Abstract

The study used the mathematical apparatus of factor analysis of the database of an expert survey of managers and chief specialists of agricultural enterprises, heads of farms to determine the vectors of development of agricultural production in the southern arid regions of Russia. The article provides a brief overview of modern publications, which shows the problems of the agricultural sector in drylands. Based on a theoretical analysis of articulated scientific problems, a list of them has been compiled, in general, epresenting the problem field of this area. We applied a research strategy to determine the structural characteristics of the problem field: an expert assessment of the significance level of each problem for the organization and development of agricultural production in drylands (a 5-point significance scale was used in the questionnaire), a statistical analysis of the data obtained by identifying the main components in the SPSS program (version 21). Empirical data were obtained based on a questionnaire survey of 87 experts—managers and chief specialists of agricultural enterprises, heads of farms, whose agricultural production is carried out in the arid territories of southern Russia. Conclusions are made showing the structural model of the problematic field of the agrarian sphere in drylands.