Russia: Roadmap For The Future
8 April 2008 On March 25, Russian Federation Minister of Agriculture Aleksey Gordeyev chaired a meeting of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture Board entitled, “On the state of the agro-industrial complex in 2007; measures taken to implement the National Priority Project and Program of Agricultural Development and Market Regulation for 2008–2012; as well as measures taken to meet 2008 target indices,” reports the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA/FAS).
Attended by industry leaders and representatives of many areas of local and federal government, the meeting discussed Russia’s agricultural future. In his opening address, the Russian Minister of Agriculture said, “after a sharp decline during the ’90s, the Russian agriculture sector has exhibited positive development dynamics for the last nine years,” adding that during this period, agricultural gross output has increased nearly 40%. Since 2004, grain production has annually exceeded 1990 benchmarks; however, he described livestock production as “seriously lagging behind.”
During the two years since the implementation of the Program of Agricultural Development and Market Regulation, the number of loans available to agricultural producers and processors has witnessed a three-fold increase to 615 billion rubles (US $25 billion). The number of investment loans has increased ten-fold to 250 billion rubles (US $10.2 billion).
Through the National Project’s implementation, the Russian Government “has detected an acute need to amend the current list of indices used to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken by executive authority bodies in relation to Russia’s citizens,” Gordeyev said.
Transitioning to this year’s tasks, Gordeyev reminded the audience that 2008 was declared by the Ministry of Agriculture to be a year dedicated to the adoption of resource saving technologies. “This is the most efficient way to decrease the cost of production, increase labor productivity, decrease dependence on favorable weather conditions, and achieve higher and more stable yields. This year’s goal is that resource saving technologies be used for 40% of crop production.”
Andrey Slepnev, the Deputy Minster of Agriculture, discussed the stipulations in the National Priority Project that provide homes to citizens living in rural areas. This will eventually result in 1,439,000 square meters of new home space, with 43% intended for young specialists. In 2008, 45.9% of rural households will be provided with running water, and 43.6% will be serviced by natural gas pipeline supplies. The Federal target program, “Social development of rural areas through 2010,” shall provide subsidies to Russian citizens, totaling over seven billion rubles.
According to Andrei Slepnev, strategic efforts will be made in 2008 to insure that 700,000 hectares of agricultural land will not be removed from rotation. “Protection should be provided for the 19,500 hectares prone to flooding and the 45,000 hectares susceptible to wind erosion and desertification,” he said.
Another goal for the agriculture sector in 2008 is to use two million tons of mineral fertilizer, which is 11 percent more than 2007. The Federal target program “Preservation and restoration of soil fertility in 2006–2012” outlines the actions that need to be taken to reach this level and appropriates 8.2 billion rubles to meet this goal.
The production of plant products is expected to increase by no less than 102.9%. “In an effort to increase feed production in the Far North regions and other minimally productive agricultural lands, 400 million rubles will be allocated as subsidies,” Slepnev noted. He also informed the audience that, within the framework of the National Priority Program, 655 million rubles will be allocated from the 2008 Federal budget to further develop flax production in Russia.
“At present there is an opportunity to use resources from the Invest-fund to begin major infrastructure projects, such as the institution of soy and flax clusters, and develop a network of selection-hybrid centers for animal breeding,” said Slepnev.
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