The use of cooperatives in the regions should be increased, Minister of Agriculture Nikolai Fyodorov said at the meeting. Referring to the First All-Russian Congress of Rural Cooperatives scheduled for March 21-22 in St Petersburg, the Minister stressed the importance of holding a high quality event.
The forum organisers expect about 1,200 people to attend. The AgroRus-Regions exhibition and fair will be held within the forum. It will showcase innovative technology and progressive experience in coop activity.
Mr Fyodorov said that today, agricultural coops must be used if small and mid-sized farms expect to compete against large agro-industrial corporations and organisations – and that this is especially important under conditions of Russia’s accession to the WTO. The departments of the Ministry of Agriculture departments have been instructed to develop a targeted programme on extending subsidies in the form of grants to develop agricultural cooperatives.
At the end of the meeting, the Council approved a plan for 2013.