The conditions of producers' activity, formed during the COVID-19 pandemic, unparalleled in recent history, dictate the interest of Russian and foreign researchers in the study of economic development in general and by individual activities, including the formation of resources, the results, and efficiency of production, the intensity of the use of digital technologies. The 2020 restrictions have had uneven effects on producers in different industries. Thus, with a decrease in the physical volume of production in the mining industry, services, wholesale and retail trade, the type of economic activity "agriculture, forestry, hunting, fish farming and fishing" shows a slight increase. Many Russian researchers [1, 2, 5] note the presence of factors of multidirectional impact on the agricultural sector of Russia during the pandemic, calling as a limitation of development the depreciation of the domestic currency, rising food prices, lack of supplies of imported spare parts for machinery during the sowing season, feed and supplements, chemicals for poultry and crop production, deteriorating conditions of financing. The pandemic has catalyzed the digitalization of businesses, but the issue is still challenging for rural producers. The study of the peculiarities of agricultural industries, which helped to maintain the volume of production in difficult conditions, provides the necessary information to ensure the directions of strengthening the position of the type of activity in the formation of gross domestic product and solving macroeconomic problems [4, 6]: digitalization of the economy, sustainable development of rural areas, food security of the country.
Study purpose: to establish the peculiarities of the Russian agricultural sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study tasks:
1) to determine the change in the main indicators of the conditions and results of agricultural production in 2020 compared to 2019;
2) to establish regional differences in the performance of the agricultural sector in 2020.