Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Digital Transformation of Crop Production of the Pskov Region

The article deals with the essence and advantages of digitalization – the introduction of digital computer technologies and information presented in digital form into production activities. The cost of economy digitalization and its individual industries is estimated. It is concluded that the decision on digitalization should be justified, supported by the necessary calculations. The article states that the use of computer technologies by Russian agrarians in production processes is the exception rather than the rule. The capacity of crop production as a long-term process, variable in terms of technological effectiveness, structure of operations and costs, for the introduction of advanced information technologies, is estimated. The article presents a description of the place of agriculture in the economy of the Pskov region, the characteristics of the main indicators of crop production. It is concluded that the growth of the gross output of the main types of agricultural products in crop production was largely due to a significant increase in yield index, but the acreage and provision of agricultural machinery in the region continue to decline. The study revealed that the power supply per production unit of agricultural producers combined with the level of digitalization reduce the size and change the structure of production costs. In addition, an assessment of the effect of the introduction of information technology in the chain of formation of the costs of crop production is given. The article describes the sequence of evaluation of the return on investment costs for digitalization of crop production in the Pskov region. The rate of payback due to savings in production costs is estimated at 5 years.