CrimeaPRESS reports:
The market for farm products in Russia, experts say, is experiencing a stage of sustainable growth. More and more consumers are consciously moving from their usual retail chains to choosing products from local producers — not out of nostalgia for “grandmother’s tomatoes,” but because of real benefits: transparency of supply chains, quality, environmental friendliness and support for small businesses. Why is farm food in demand today more than ever — and does this trend have a global future in Russian realities?
Growing popularity: from niche to mass demand
Just five years ago, “farmer” status was associated mainly with seasonal fairs on the outskirts of cities, “non-GMO” stickers and price tags 30-50% higher than the market average. Today everything is different: farm products are confidently included in the daily diet of millions of Russians — not as a delicacy, but as a conscious choice. According to Rosstat and research by the Association of Farmers and Peasant Farms (AFKKH), retail sales of small agricultural enterprises’ products increased by 68% from 2020 to 2024. At the same time, the share of online orders in this segment has more than tripled.
The reasons for this surge are complex. Firstly, the pandemic and subsequent geopolitical changes accelerated the reassessment of values: consumers began to pay more attention to the origin of food, the conditions of its production, and the composition. Secondly, trust in local producers is growing — after all, with direct contact it is easier to ask questions about livestock feed, grain storage methods or the use of fertilizers. Thirdly, a new consumption culture is emerging: people are increasingly choosing not “cheaper”, but “more meaningful” — even if this requires a slight overpayment.
The effect of network interaction is especially important here: demand gives rise to offers, and they, in turn, make products even more accessible. A striking example of this is the active development of specialized online platforms where farmers and buyers “meet” — yampi.ru. Such resources have already gone beyond niche projects and have become full-fledged distribution channels, providing logistics, certification and marketing support for hundreds of manufacturers across the country.
How do farm products differ from industrial products?
Many people mistakenly believe that “farm” is just a marketing label. In fact, the difference is deeper than it seems.
Production scale
Industrial agribusiness is focused on standard, volume and long shelf life. Farm products, as a rule, are produced in limited volumes — on farms with an area of up to 100 hectares (often up to 20 hectares), with an emphasis on quality rather than on quantitative records.
Cultivation and processing technologies
Farmers more often use agronomic practices that minimize chemical loads: crop rotation, composting, biological plant protection, and grazing of animals. Processing is also minimal: cereals are not polished, meat is not injected with brine, milk is pasteurized, not ultra-pasteurized.
Composition and nutritional value
Research from the All-Russian Research Institute of Oilseeds and the All-Russian Research Institute of Meat Industry shows that farm products often contain 15-25% more microelements, B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids (in the case of pasture-raised livestock) and antioxidants (in vegetables/fruits grown in healthy soils). This has less to do with “organicity” and more to do with biodiversity and shorter shelf life.
Transparency and traceability
Unlike multi-stage industrial chains, from a farmer you can see a photo of a field, a video of milking, find out the breed of a cow or the variety of wheat — right down to the batch number. This creates a feeling of personal responsibility for the manufacturer, who is ashamed to “slip” a low-quality product.
Assortment: from meat to spices — the “farm” format covers everything
If previously farmers mainly offered milk, eggs and seasonal vegetables, today the range has become incredibly diverse — and covers almost all food categories.
Meat and poultry
The most popular are beef (breeds: Aberdeen Angus, Hereford), lamb (Romney Marsh, Karachay), pork (Berkshire, Duroc), as well as duck, turkey and quail. The key difference is long-term (from 12 to 24 months) free-range fattening on natural feed. Taste, marbling, content of healthy fats — all this is at the premium segment level, but without the import markup.
Cereals and legumes
Farmed buckwheat, oats, spelled, lentils, chickpeas, black rice and quinoa are experiencing a real renaissance. Unpolished and unsteamed varieties are especially valued: they retain the bran shell, vitamins and fiber. Some farms even specialize in rare crops — for example, flax or millet buckwheat, or barley.
Spices and herbs
Yes, and spices can be farm-grown too! Dill, parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme, coriander — grown in open ground or in greenhouses without chemical growth stimulation. And also our own mixtures: for example, “for legumes” (cumin, turmeric, black pepper, bay leaf powder), “for soups” (parsley, celery, onion skins, fenugreek) or “for cereals” (ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg). Such mixtures not only enhance the taste, but also promote better absorption of nutrients.
Dairy products
There is a real boom here: from cheeses (Adyghe, feta cheese, mozzarella, cheddar) to yoghurts, sour cream, cottage cheese and even ayran. Important: many farmers use homemade starters — based on live cultures, without stabilizers or thickeners.
Honey, berries, nuts, oils
Forest honey from herbs, frozen berries without shock freezing (which preserves cell structure and vitamin C), walnuts from our own trees, unrefined cold-pressed oils (linseed, pumpkin, sesame) — all this is in demand not only among gourmets, but also among those who adhere to a healthy or therapeutic diet.
Digital transformation: how online platforms are changing the rules of the game
Returning to the topic of digitalization: if back in 2021 most farmers sold through social networks, today the market is being streamlined. Aggregators appear with uniform standards — in terms of quality, packaging, delivery. This lowers the barrier to entry for new producers and at the same time increases consumer confidence.
What do these sites provide:
- access to the city market — a farmer from the Kursk region can deliver buckwheat to Moscow without having his own logistics.
- certification support — assistance in preparing declarations, veterinary certificates, laboratory tests.
- real-time feedback — ratings, reviews, recommendations based on user behavior.
- educational component — articles on the benefits of spelled, videos on how to properly store chickpeas, collections of «recipes from the farmer’s kit.»
The “self-sustaining loop” effect is especially indicative: the more farmers connect to farmer “seller-buyer” platforms, the wider the range, the easier it is for buyers to find what they need — and the higher the demand. And growing demand encourages new producers to join the system. According to experts, in 2024 the number of registered farms increased by 120% compared to 2022.
The global future of the farming segment in Russia: forecasts and challenges
Does this trend have the potential to become not an occasional blip, but a sustainable part of the country’s food system? Yes — and here’s why:
State support is increasing
The “Agrostartup”, “Family Farm” programs, preferential lending (up to 5% per annum), subsidies for equipment and processing — all this makes farming economically viable even in remote regions.
Import substitution as an incentive
After the departure of Western brands, a niche of premium but local products remains on the market. Farmers are already occupying it: for example, farm cheeses are replacing Italian ones, and local flax is being replaced by Scandinavian superfoods. This is not just a replacement — it is the creation of a new, Russian quality.
Youth trend
Increasingly, farms are founded by people with higher education — engineers, IT specialists, doctors — who use modern approaches: precision farming, IoT sensors, CRM systems for clients. This changes the image of the profession and attracts investment.
Environmental agenda
Farming practices are some of the closest to the principles of sustainable development: less transport, less packaging, more biodiversity. With growing demand for ESG responsibility, this is becoming a competitive advantage.
However, challenges remain:
- logistics — last mile delivery to small towns and villages is still expensive.
- standardization — the lack of uniform criteria for the concept of “farm products” leads to abuse: any reseller can stick a label on it.
- price — despite rising incomes, for many families farm food is still a “luxury”. Here, scale and competition will play a key role — and therefore the development of those same online platforms.
The farming segment is not a wave, but new water
Farm products in Russia, experts say, are ceasing to be a marginal phenomenon. It becomes part of the new economy of trust, sustainable consumption and digital agriculture — Yampi. The growth in popularity is not a tribute to fashion, but a response to the systemic needs of society: “I want to know what I’m eating. I want this to be useful. I want my money to go towards developing a real business.”.
And the development of online platforms — from federal to regional aggregators — plays a catalytic role here: by making farm products accessible, reliable and easy to order, they transform a niche into a full-fledged market.
And if today farm food is a conscious choice, then tomorrow it will most likely become the norm.
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