Delivering the main report at the meeting was Vladimir Labinov, Head of the Livestock and Pedigree Breeding Department at the Ministry of Agriculture. During the meeting it was noted that dairy farming is the most complex and inertia-prone sub-branch of agriculture today. It is investment intensive and requires long-term lending resources. The equipment at most of the farms engaged in dairy breeding is out of date, which leads to disruptions in production processes and a lowering of the quality of milk.
The most important tool for attracting investment into dairy farming is subsidising loan interest rates. The 2008-2012 state programme helped to establish or upgrade over 2,000 dairy farming units to use modern technology. In 2012, additional state support measures subsidised the purchase of pedigree young animals and preservation of the breeding stock.
To promote milk production, the sectoral targeted programme The Development of Dairy Farming and Increasing Milk Production in 2009-2012 led 68 regions to launch and implement programmes to increase milk output. Over the past three years, over 38 billion roubles has been allocated for these purposes, including 8.79 billion roubles from the federal budget.
Minister of Agriculture Nikolai Fyodorov highlighted a new federal assistance measure for the branch: as well as preserving existing state support a new subsidy was introduced this year – on selling 1 litre (kilogramme) of premium or first class marketable milk. The amount of support planned for this year has been increased from 9.5 billion roubles by a further 3.2 billion roubles. These measures, according to Mr Fyodorov, are designed to encourage increased production of high-quality marketable milk. In addition, subsidies to offset some of the insurance costs have been provided.
By 2020, milk production is expected to increase by 6.2 million tonnes to reach 38.2 million tonnes. These indices will enable the consumption of milk and dairy products per person to rise (in milk terms) from 247 kilogrammes to 271 kilogrammes.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture
