DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS OF AGRICULTURAL CONSUMER CREDIT COOPERATIVES AS AN ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL INSTITUTE FOR RUSSIAN AGROINDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.

The relevance of the work is stipulated by the need to study alternative financing instruments for the Russian agro- industrial complex whose products ensure the satisfaction of primary needs and national food security. The research aimed to study the potential of agricultural credit consumer cooperatives in the Russian economy as an institution of alternative financing and the sustainability of small business in agriculture. The authors of this article relied on a system-integrated approach, including statistical and comparative analysis, as well as case method and analogy method for identifying the determinants of the development of agricultural credit cooperation. The authors have revealed that the deterrent nature of the development of agricultural credit consumer cooperatives is determined by two groups of factors: exogenous (macroeconomic financial instability, lack of necessary institutional conditions, excessive requirements from the Bank of Russia) and endogenous (level of confidence of agricultural producers, lack of financial and digital literacy in rural areas). Agricultural credit cooperation can have real potential as an alternative source of financing in the field of small and medium-sized businesses in the agro-industrial complex with the support of this institution from the state and a high level of trust at the microlevel of rural territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]