Advances in Intelligent Systems Research, volume 167 International Scientific and Practical Conference “Digitization of Agriculture - Development Strategy” (ISPC 2019) Digital agriculture in improving spatial economic development of rural municipalities in Russia Elena Dvoryadkina Dmitry Karkh Elizaveta Belousova Department of Regional, Municipal Department of Logistics and Commerce Scientific Research Department Economics and Governance Ural State University of Economics Ural State University of Economics Ural State University of Economics Ekaterinburg, Russia Ekaterinburg, Russia Ekaterinburg, Russia [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract— Digitalization of economy taking place in the At the same time, according to N.N. Kiseleva and V.V. Russian Federation poses new challenges to smaller and less Bratkova, spatial growth manifests in reduced concertation developed municipalities, such as municipal districts, a type of of population in central cities, economic growth in semi- rural municipalities in the Russian system of municipal periphery and peripheral territories, emergence of new division. Having fewer resources than larger urbanized growth areas, increase in even distribution of population and municipalities they should be more cautious in making economic activities across territory, and “tools for managing decisions about the involvement of new digital technologies in spatial growth differ depending on the type of the growth their spatial economic development. This paper aims to test the zone” [5]. In line with this position, we can conclude that hypothesis whether and how introduction of technologies and framing regional and municipal policies targeted at spatial practices of digital agriculture can help improving spatial economic development, as well as development and economic development of municipal districts. The findings of the research indicate that agricultural production plays a specification of the corresponding tools should be based on substantial role in municipal districts’ economies even in identifying spatial economic characteristics of an object of regions with industrial specialization. Spatial economic such policies. Furthermore, research on regional economic characteristics of this type of municipality favour the development is particularly important for developing development of agriculture. At the same time, spatial economic countries, where the uneven spatial distribution of economic development of municipal districts can be substantially activities has been particularly marked and has tended to enhanced by introducing practices of digital agriculture, persist over time [6]. The statement is also true for Russia, because it increases economically significant results, improves which has the largest territory in the world and experiences land exploitation, maintains or increases area under crops problems with even distribution of both citizens and through effective distribution of resources (labour, equipment, economic activities. etc.) and land management, and makes information flows between economic agents (including agricultural producers) Digitalization significantly affects the nature of the more compact. spatial factor impact. It leads to the so-called communication shrinkage (with reference to A.I. Treyvish, increase in Keywords— digital agriculture, rural municipality, economic permeability, connectivity, accessibility of space (due to space, spatial development transport and communication infrastructure)) and distorts space. It makes distances shorter, information transmittance I. INTRODUCTION quicker, and, as a result, transactions faster and decisions to Looking at space as “an economic phenomenon and be taken more rapidly. Simultaneously, it enables processing conceptual form of socioeconomic system functioning” [1], huge amounts of information that can influence spatial we can treat spatial development in two ways: as progressive planning of the territory. Large cities (usually, urban districts changes of the physical basis and socioeconomic in terms of municipal division) were the first to test environment present in it, and a set of practical measures in advantages of digitalization, but as time passes this process the field of regional economic policy aimed at improving the goes further to inner regions of Russia and concerns other quality of citizens’ life. Concurrently, conceptual form of municipalities, which have to decide, how they could benefit socioeconomic systems’ functioning is now being enriched from digitalization and thus become more competitive. with the emerging and evolving digitalization, which, in turn, The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation transforms spatial context as well. “On the national goals and strategic objectives of the The necessity to allow for the spatial factor in practical development of the Russian Federation for the period up to activities on regional and municipal development is 2024” of May 7, 2018 sets the objective to transform priority emphasized in a number of studies [2–4]. The failure to take economics sectors and a social sphere with the use of digital the spatial factor into account in municipal governance leads technologies and platform solutions. Undoubtedly, this will to spatial differentiation between individual settlements lead to spatial economic transformations of regions, because belonging to the one municipality (in various spheres – structural shifts become possible. Agriculture, which is a places of employment, sufficiency with transport, basic sector of the national economy and quite important for engineering and other infrastructure), decreased capability of rural municipalities, has some specifics in the context of the municipality to compete for investment, financial and digitalization: human resources. First, agricultural production is affected by many factors and conditions, especially physical and Copyright © 2019, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 426 Advances in Intelligent Systems Research, volume 167 geographical ones, which are of spatial nature. of decision-making, (5) development of e-learning Economically, this results in growing management technologies in agricultural education, and (6) introduction costs at the level of individual agricultural producers, of technologies of intellectual agricultural production. which in turn influences financial and economic performance of municipalities; The present paper is concerned with the issue of whether and how introduction of technologies and practices of digital Second, agricultural economic agents in agriculture can help improving spatial economic municipalities’ space are dispersed, and this affects development of municipal districts and in line with the aim economic space coherence; will deal with the following tasks: (1) identify spatial economic characteristics of municipal districts on the basis Third, agriculture currently features low level of of studying different concepts of economic space, (2) analyze digitalization despite generally growth rates of the structure of municipal districts’ economy using the case agricultural information technologies market. of an industrial region and test the hypothesis that agriculture Municipal districts are a type of rural municipalities in plays significant role in economic development of municipal the Russian Federation, often distant from large urbanized districts even in industrial regions, (3) summarize the results areas and basically experiencing the outflow of inhabitants. of analysis and identify the characteristics of economic Their population density is usually lower than the regional space, which can be improved through the use of digital average. Consequently, they encounter smaller financial base agriculture practices. and have to direct meticulous attention to spatial planning. II. LITERATURE REVIEW At this, we should take into account, that digital infrastructure in rural municipalities is usually developed The literature shows no consensus on the essence of insufficiently. One of the areas, where digitalization can economic space. The review shows that there are at least contribute to municipal districts’ spatial development, is four concepts of economic space, which are generally promoting efficiency of economic activities due to: (1) a accepted: a territorial concept, a resource-based concept, an large-scale transformation of agricultural sector, (2) information concept, and a process-focused concept. The reduction of production costs in agricultural organizations, approaches to defining economic space are systematized in (3) increase in investments in creation of technologies, table 1. equipment, platforms in agricultural facilities, (4) automation TABLE I. CONCEPTS OF ECONOMIC SPACE Concept of economic space (approach to Researchers Treatment of economic space defining it) Territorial concept A.G. Granberg “a saturated territory (with various objects and ties between them: settlements, industrial enterprises, E.G. Animitsa, economically utilised and recreational places, transport and utility networks)” [8] N.M. Surnina “state territory, within which the system of people’s life support is being created, used and reproduced, and Yu.G. inhabitants’ activities aimed at satisfying their needs take place. In a broad sense, economic space covers the Lavrikova land area, internal and territorial waters, which are necessary to maintain and