The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan, while implementing the National Project, is betting on the development of cooperation: Agricultural producers note an increase in profitability

14 January 2020, Tuesday

In 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan launched the national project “Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Support of Individual Entrepreneurship Initiatives”, where the main focus is on the development of cooperation.

The national project includes:

- grant support to the Agrostartup farms;

- the provision of subsidies for the development of SPOK,

and reimbursement of up to 50% of the costs of acquiring property, equipment and livestock.

Under the Agrostartup program, in 2019, 103 applicants received grants from 2 to 4 million rubles in the amount of 312.7 million rubles, and under the program for providing subsidies for the development of agricultural consumer cooperatives, 29 cooperatives received subsidies in the amount of 98.9 million rubles.

The Ministry pays great attention to the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the countryside. Today in every district there are people who have opened their own business with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan. At the same time, many of them are ready to help others. They begin to operate cooperatives.

So, to date, 280 cooperatives have been created in Tatarstan, 55 of them in 2019. The number of functioning cooperatives continues to grow. Most importantly, cash revenue and the number of members involved in cooperatives are growing. So, over the past 2 years, the revenue of cooperatives has doubled, the number of members of cooperatives is 8 times more now.

An example is the Barakat cooperative of the Aznakayevsky district, created by novice farmers initially to form large batches of milk and reduce costs. In 2018, the cooperative, as a beginner, won a grant of 5 million rubles for the purchase of a milk carrier with a cooler and equipment. Due to the sale of large volumes of milk, its processing, sale directly, the purchase price of milk from members of the cooperative is now 22 rubles. From LPH, it’s 24 rubles. The number of members from 10 in just a year grew to 125, revenue from zero made 25 million rubles.

The Yulduz cooperative in the Kaybitsky district, created in October last year on the basis of 3 peasant farms and 13 private farms, works in the same way. In addition to collecting milk, the cooperative is engaged in the procurement and processing of meat. In December 2018, having won a grant in the amount of 5 million rubles, they purchased a modular meat processing plant with a capacity of 500 kg per day. There are 3 types of sausages, hand-made dumplings, meatballs, manti, cabbage rolls, moreover they are baking pies with meat and sweet fillings. There are certificates for all types of products, including the Halal standard certificates. The number of cooperative members in just a year has grown to 260.

Among the advantages of joining a cooperative, agricultural producers note, firstly, access to state support in the form of grants and soft loans, and secondly, the possibility of combining efforts in the procurement, processing and packaging, as well as the sale of manufactured products at a better price due to the formation of large batches and lower costs. As a result, the profitability of production is growing.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan reminds that for questions of creating agricultural cooperation and obtaining state support measures, you can contact the State Institution of Competence for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in the Republic of Tatarstan at (843) 221-77-40, website cskrt.rf.