Abstract. The article reveals the latest trends in functioning of the agricultural sector in Russia and the factors influencing its further development. It describes the major initiatives of the state on the maintenance and creation of favourable conditions for the agroindustrial complex. In this regard, efficient management of economic and investment attractiveness is considered to be the most important issue. The authors present a construction of analytical function of investment trend modelling in agriculture, as well as the analysis of growth rates in investment and their influence on the volume of production and import of agricultural products in the Russian Federation in the long term.

SUMMARYInvestments are able to solve lots of Russia's economic problems on the whole and the problems of agro industrial complex in particular. The solution of long-term and short-term tasks is connected with them: overcoming the crisis, the consolidation of taxable base, the increase of income budgetary part, raising competitiveness of Russian production, acceleration of Russia's exports' diversification, and boost of new job growth. The authors show on the example of the Saratov region (the middle Volga area) agriculture's newest tendencies in Russia and factors influencing its development. Major initiatives of the state promoting the creation of favorable conditions of agro industrial complex are analyzed. Efficient economic management and investment attractiveness of agroindustrial complex are considered to be the most important. Stressing that the most significant are still state support and successful realization of State Program of agricultural development the detailed analyses of investment sphere of the Saratov Region is presented by the authors.

The article is devoted to the agricultural markets’ analysis (grains and sunflower) as an integral system having its peculiarities which make it different from other markets. These specific features are connected with heterogeneity of participants following various aims and working in different investment horizons, as well as seasonal functioning of this market. The calculations have been given proving the E. Peters’ hypothesis on the presence of fractal agricultural markets. The research adjusts the use of the fractal markets’ analysis results in creating agrarian markets models and the possibility of forecasting its participants’ and prices behavior taking into consideration models’ data simplification.

The trends in the development of the milk and product subcomplex of the Russian Federation and the experience of cluster development in developed countries are analyzed. The possibility of creating a cluster in the Saratov region has been substantiated. This cluster will eliminate duplication of production and selling and marketing functions of the milk market subjects, as well as reduce the total costs by more than 4% on average. According to the authors, it will lead to an increase in efficiency production and incentives for the development of infrastructure and rural areas.