Reference
The Union State programme on the innovative development of potato and Jerusalem artichoke production has been drafted pursuant to the resolution of the Union State Council of Ministers of July 18, 2012, that approved the concept of the Union State programme on the innovative development of potato and Jerusalem artichoke production in 2012 to 2015.
The programme is to ensure that the member states Russia and Belarus are supplied with high quality potato for production of healthy food and fodder, cultivation and processing. Another purpose is to ensure food safety, with 95% potato produced within the country, to increase efficiency and the competitiveness of potato farming, as well as to establish a market of healthy food produced with Jerusalem artichokes, and to develop a technology for the production and processing of Jerusalem artichoke.
The programme includes measures to provide for the production of up to 5,000 tonnes of high quality planting potatoes, up to 500,000 tonnes of inulin, up to 22,100 tonnes of Jerusalem artichoke for fodder, up to 5,000 tonnes of oxygenates (bioethanol). As many as 1,167 new jobs are to be created as part of the programme.
The programme will involve a private-public partnership that is supposed to attract 80% of the non-budgetary financing needed.
The programme requires some 7.5 billion roubles, which includes 1.5 billion roubles from the funds of the Union State, or 975 million roubles provided by the Russian Federation and 525 million roubles from the Republic of Belarus. Non-budgetary funds amount to six billion roubles.
The programme is expected to meet all demand for potatoes suitable for food production, cultivation and industrial processing in the Union State. The production of natural raw material from the Jerusalem artichoke for production of high quality organic fuels, animal feed and for the pharmaceutical industry is also expected to increase. In general, the programme seeks to create a new technology for the improvement of potato and Jerusalem artichoke production, to form a healthy food market and increase employment.