The scientific article determines that the global economic crisis, political and economic restrictions, various sanctions and counter-sanctions have become a catalyst for the active growth of the competitiveness of agriculture, an incentive for the further development of innovation in the agro-industrial complex, ensuring the country's food security and implementing the import substitution policy. The agro-industrial complex of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic has sufficient natural resources and unique climatic conditions. However, in the agricultural sector of the economy of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, there are a number of extraordinary problems associated with the use of well-established high-expenditure technologies, principles, and technical means. In this regard, the initiation of innovative activities is being updated, contributing to the progressive strengthening of the efficiency of the functioning of the agro-industrial complex of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. An analysis of the innovative activity of agriculture was carried out, and the development of dominant directions for improving the efficiency of the functioning of agricultural enterprises in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic was carried out. The total level of innovative activity of agricultural organizations in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic amounted to 10.3% in 2020. The share of organizations involved in the introduction of technological innovations in the total number of all organizations in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic amounted to 15.0%. Thus, in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, measures are being taken to build a high-tech greenhouse complex with a system of continuous vegetable production cycle. All this indicates positive, but not sufficient, shifts in the innovative development of the economy of the agro-industrial complex of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Production activity in the agricultural sector of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is rapidly developing in the conditions of the formation of a favorable conjuncture, improvement of economic conditions in the agricultural sector. From the standpoint of potential resource opportunities, the dominant directions for improving the efficiency of the functioning of agricultural enterprises in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic should be based on a phased balanced solution to the problems of preserving a favorable environment, the use of natural resource potential, intellectual resources and high-tech intensive and resource-saving modern industries in order to meet the needs of the population in environmentally friendly products..