The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia held the final meeting of the Board
On April 16, the final meeting of the Board was held in the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia. The event was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Alexey Gordeyev, Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev, Chairman of the Council of the Federation Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management Alexey Mayorov, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma on Agrarian Issues Vladimir Kashin, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Akhmetov, as well as heads of regions, heads of regional authorities of the agroindustrial complex, industry alliances and associations.
Opening the meeting, Aleksey Gordeyev noted that last year was successful for the industry in terms of production, financial and economic indicators. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the main task for Russian farmers in the current year is the execution of the May decree of the President relating to increasing exports of agricultural raw materials and goods, as well as the implementation of the state program of integrated development of rural areas developed on behalf of the president. Until the 1so of June of this year, the state program should be submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation, the estimated amount of funding could reach 1.5 trillion rubles.
In turn, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture noted that agriculture today is one of the factors for the accelerated development of the Russian economy. In particular, taking into account the increase in the food industry and the production of beverages, the agro-industrial complex in 2018 was 2.3%. At the same time, the profit of agricultural producers before tax exceeded the level of 2017 by more than 15%. This became possible thanks to the existing measures of state support of farmers.
Every year the sums of state support increase, and the list of directions expands. In 2017, 248.4 billion rubles were allocated to the events of the State Program for the Development of Agriculture, 254.1 billion rubles in 2018. In 2019, the planned budget allocation was significantly increased to 303.6 billion rubles.
One of the most important results of 2018 for the industry was the start of the implementation of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Agriculture, under which 2 subprograms for the development of potato and sugar beet seed breeding were approved last year. In addition, subordinate universities received new varieties and hybrids of potatoes, wheat, soybeans and other crops. Dozens of new production technologies, software products have been developed, new scientific recommendations appeared for the agro-industrial complex.
A new, decisive stage in the life of the Russian village will be the development and implementation of the State program for the integrated development of rural areas. Its activities are designed to increase the level of employment and incomes of the rural population, create comfortable and environmentally friendly living conditions in the countryside, and increase the availability of public services.
To fulfill the task set by the President addressing to the Federal Assembly - developing the “Green Brand of Russia” - the Ministry of Agriculture will continue to work on the electronic veterinary certification system “Mercury”, which will provide end-to-end control and traceability of the chain - from raw materials to finished products.
In 2018, Russia managed to open several strategically important foreign markets. Dmitry Patrushev noted that by individual positions Russia is already among the top three exporters of agricultural products. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture expressed confidence that the current dynamics of foreign trade suggests that in the medium term, Russia is able to enter the top ten world exporters of agricultural products.