Sustainable development: Russian traditions and global innovation and investment processes in flax production and processing

Introduction. Agricultural products and their processing industries are a source of human livelihood and determine the socioeconomic development and well-being of any country. Russia is one of the countries where flax has been a key agricultural crop and export item for centuries.

Purpose. To identify the prerequisites and opportunities for developing flax and flax-processed product production, as well as to identify sound innovation and investment solutions, taking into account various factors related to the implementation of Industry 4.0, on the one hand, and the traditions of flax production in Russia, on the other.

Methods. The study is based on a combination of general and specialized scientific analysis methods, including traditional and adapted methods of historical, economic-statistical, and comparative analysis, as well as tools for studying commodity market conditions and the competitive environment in the global flax-processed product market. The development and evaluation of new innovative solutions for sustainable development, taking into account the long history of flax cultivation and processing in Russia, required studying individual historical and economic aspects of flax production, the dynamics of the global flax and flax-processing market, and identifying the preconditions for further changes in the global market, including socioeconomic and environmental factors. The authors relied on analytical research methods, didactic approaches, analogy, abstraction, synthesis, deduction, interpretation, and other approaches. Data on the main global and local flax cultivation and processing areas were analyzed over time, as well as the current status and development potential in Russia.

Results. This paper identifies the key factors driving the continued growth of global demand for flax and its derivatives, as well as general trends in the global flax market. It also demonstrates that the development of conditions for further growth in demand for flax derivatives, both in international and local markets, is closely linked to the characteristics of contemporary socioeconomic development and the state of secondary industries. At the same time, Russia faces the risk of flax derivative production lagging behind the growth of society's needs. This is due not only to changes in global trade policy, tariffs, and the economic conditions of international trade, but also to innovation and investment processes, on the one hand, and the specifics of new trends in human development, on the other.

Conclusions. The key factor in successfully increasing Russia's share of global flax and flax derivative production is reliance on scientific advances and investment and innovation management across all stages of the process chain, from flax cultivation to finished products, drawing on established national traditions in the identified areas. With effective management of these processes, flax, as an environmentally friendly crop, can make a significant contribution to the country's sustainable development, as well as help solve environmental problems and improve human relationships with the environment.

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