Sharing Knowledge: Russian Farmers Exchange Digital Best Practices
Russia’s agricultural sector continues its steady digital transformation. The recent “Digital Agro Tour” in the Republic of Mari El brought together more than 200 leaders of major agricultural enterprises to exchange practical experience and explore new technologies that are reshaping farm management and livestock operations across the country.
Hands-On Experience for Practitioners
To accelerate innovation in agribusiness, farmers and executives need access to practical examples of successful digital transformation. Russia’s “Digital Agro Tours” provide exactly that — a federal knowledge-sharing platform designed to help agricultural enterprises adopt advanced technology with minimal risk and maximum return.
On October 22, 2025, the fourth Digital Agro Tour was held at the Semenovsky Breeding Plant in Mari El, one of the region’s leading dairy producers and crop growers. The event gathered over 200 participants from 87 companies across 10 regions of Russia, collectively managing more than 1 million hectares of farmland and 300,000 head of cattle.
The focus was entirely on practical, data-driven cases demonstrating how digital solutions can transform real-world farming operations.
Smart Tools on the Ground
The Semenovsky complex showcased its own experience in adopting precision agriculture and digital management tools.
According to Sergey Bondarev, head of the enterprise’s IT division, the farm’s entire fleet of machinery is equipped with GLONASS navigation systems and integrated with the AgroSignal digital platform. This solution enables tracking of field areas, real-time monitoring of machinery performance, and analysis of operator efficiency. Each field’s data history is stored and analyzed, supporting informed decision-making.
Kirill Tyrykin, Commercial Director of AgroSignal, explained that the system helps calculate the exact needs of each field in terms of equipment, seeds, and fertilizers — while tracking downtime and correlating it with employee performance and pay. In animal husbandry, Deputy CEO for Livestock Robert Malinin introduced the M-Complex digital platform for herd management, which covers everything from milking control and breeding to vaccination and young stock monitoring. As Mari El’s Minister of Agriculture and Food, Pavel Rayevsky, summarized, “Digital transformation in agriculture is no longer optional — it’s inevitable.”
Expanding the Program
Throughout 2025, Digital Agro Tours were held in regions such as Tomsk, Saratov, Altai, and Tatarstan.
The next event will take place on November 5 during the Siberian Agrarian Week trade show, focusing on the theme: “Digitalization of Agricultural Enterprises and State Information Systems: Turning Tools into Results.”
In March 2026, the Zubarev family farm, one of the largest in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, will host the next tour, sharing insights on digital solutions for crop and livestock management. These tours are becoming a nationwide framework for scaling agricultural innovation, enabling farms to adopt technologies faster and more efficiently through peer-to-peer collaboration.
Digital Adoption on the Rise
A study by consulting firm Yakov & Partners, titled “Artificial Intelligence in Russia’s Agro-Industrial Complex: Trend or Real Money?”, found that digital tools are already used across more than 20 million hectares of Russian farmland — an area larger than all agricultural land in Germany. These platforms combine satellite imagery analysis, vegetation recognition, and automated production management.
Experts expect both the number of Agro Tour locations and the diversity of their topics to grow, covering logistics optimization, ERP system integration, and digital supply chain management. In the future, such exchanges could expand internationally, offering a model for collaboration with agricultural sectors in emerging markets that are undergoing digital transformation.
