Mikhail Mishustin: “Based on last year’s performance, Russia had ample supply of grain, meat, fish, vegetable oil, and sugar. We are also close to meeting the Food Security Doctrine’s targets for milk, potatoes, and vegetables.”
Mikhail Mishustin holds strategic session on development of agro- industrial and food security
Mikhail Mishustin holds strategic session on development of agro- industrial and food security
Mikhail Mishustin holds strategic session on development of agro- industrial and food security
Mikhail Mishustin holds strategic session on development of agro- industrial and food security
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks:
Good afternoon, colleagues.
We now continue with our strategic sessions.
Today, we will discuss issues related to the development of agriculture and ensuring the country’s food security. These two tasks are undoubtedly inextricably linked, and our farmers are successfully addressing them.
The President has repeatedly recognised the achievements of our agricultural producers. He has emphasised that in recent years, the successes of our agro-industrial complex have become a true source of national pride.
The industry has adapted to the current challenges and is quickly responding to the needs of the domestic market. We also have significant potential to increase the export of food and raw produce. Living standards in rural areas are rising, and the workforce training system is being updated. The use of relevant digital technologies has also grown significantly. We recently showcased the results of these initiatives at the traditional Golden Autumn exhibition.
All of this demonstrates the consistent, system-wide state support that the Government will continue to provide. This support is crucial to achieve the national goals set by the head of state, including strengthening the technological leadership of our agricultural industry, which is essential for its long-term competitiveness.
One of the key issues in the sphere of our attention will be focusing at the quality and volume of supplies to the domestic market.
Based on last year’s performance, Russia had ample supply of grain, meat, fish, vegetable oil, and sugar. We are also close to meeting the Food Security Doctrine’s targets for milk, potatoes, and vegetables. I am confident that our future results will be no worse than those we have already achieved.
This forecast is largely based on the preliminary results of the harvesting season. More than 135 million tonnes of grain have been harvested. We have once again seen record harvests of pulse crops, soybeans, rapeseed, and fruit. Dairy and cheese production have also increased, largely thanks to proven development incentives for this sector. These include, first and foremost, preferential lending, subsidies for priority industries, and assistance to small and medium-sized farms and consumer cooperatives. We also offer subsidised leasing of food processing equipment and partial reimbursement of milk processing costs to farms.
Among the most popular government support measures are grants for rural tourism. Of the 91 projects selected this year, 88 have already begun implementation.
We are also providing funds to veterans and participants of the special military operation who wish to start their own agricultural businesses. These funds are now being disbursed across 11 regions in Russia.
Furthermore, we are tailoring our support to the needs of specific regions and continuing our efforts to develop greenhouse vegetable growing in the Far East. We are also supporting farmers in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. A government resolution has secured additional support for livestock breeding and for the planting and maintenance of orchards.
Finally, we plan to complete an inventory of agricultural land across the country by the end of the year. This represents millions of hectares of arable land. Bringing this land into cultivation will allow us to increase agricultural production even further.
An important factor in enhancing the efficiency of the agro-industrial sector is the accelerated adoption of modern technologies, including digital solutions and process automation.
This approach unlocks significant potential for predicting crop yields. It facilitates the timely identification of pests, the calculation of fertiliser quantities, the monitoring of livestock conditions, the optimisation of production facility utilisation, and the deployment of other domestic technologies to improve product quality and reduce costs.
A fundamentally critical aspect is the speed of innovation adoption. We must minimise the time it takes to bring new developments to market.
These methods have already increased the utilisation of domestically bred seeds for sunflowers and sugar beet.
Since the beginning of this year, we have been providing support to 39 scientific and educational institutions through the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. These institutions are conducting research in plant breeding.
Under the federal scientific and technical programme last year, 16 patents and 14 domestic solutions were secured. Additionally, 38 varieties and hybrids were entered into the state register.
Three national centres were established, focusing on genetic research for plants, grape varieties, and livestock to meet the needs of the agri projects cultural sector.
I have mentioned only a few achievements in this area. Naturally, we will continue this work.
To ensure intensive production rates, our agricultural science needs young people – trained, passionate individuals eager to develop the agricultural sector. Their training system has been substantially restructured to align with industry demands.
Since 1 September of this year, school students in 67 regions have been attending over 600 agricultural classes.
The modernisation of secondary vocational education institutions continues.
Starting next year, we will begin providing subsidies to cover the financial costs of agricultural colleges for implementing projects of their development. Over the next three years, we will allocate 5 billion roubles from the federal budget for these purposes.
I would like to emphasise the importance of synchronising the entire training process, beginning at school and continuing through secondary and higher education. This also applies to retraining and professional development, ensuring that those who choose this field remain in demand throughout their careers.
Colleagues,
We will continue to support the domestic
agro-industrial sector. This is reflected, among other things, in the Government’s position on the draft federal budget for the next three years,
submitted to the State Duma. These funds must be applied in line with the priorities outlined by the President to maximise efforts in critically
important areas. Today, we will discuss these matters with the regions and the expert community.
