Marat Zyabbarov: The melioration program helps to mitigate the consequences of dry conditions
A meeting of the Commission for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergency Situations and Ensuring Fire Safety of the Republic of Tatarstan was held today by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan Alexey Pesoshin and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan-Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Zyabbarov.
The meeting began with a minute of silence - as part of the Day of Remembrance and Mourning – on June 22, the day of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. "I ask you to honor all those who died in the war," Rustam Minnikhanov said.
Municipal districts of the republic were connected to the meeting of the Commission via videoconference. The main topic is the current weather situation and measures to preserve the potential of agricultural crops.
"The established abnormally hot weather has a negative impact on the activities of various sectors of the economy and, first of all, on the agriculture of the republic. So far, it is not what happened in 2010, but the situation is very acute, " Rustam Minnikhanov said. He stressed that it is necessary to assess the current situation and outline additional measures to minimize risks of losses and ensure the stable operation of agricultural producers and personal farmsteads.
Sergey Zakharov, Head of the Department for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of the Republic of Tatarstan, made a report on the situation. He said that today there are abnormal weather conditions in the region – from the point of view of dangerous phenomena. This is a high fire flammability of forests – it has reached 4-5 hazard class. The average daily temperatures exceeded the norm by 9 degrees.
One of the activities of the department is monitoring the condition of all agricultural crops, including grain and technical, perennial grasses. About 22 hydrometeorological stations carry out year-round monitoring.
Sergey Zakharov also said that Tatarstan is monitoring the reserves of productive moisture in the arable layer. The department has about 40 units of portable equipment that allows monitoring situation on the contour fields of the region. This information is also used for insurance of large agricultural producers. In addition, the Management makes preliminary and final yield forecasts. This information is brought through the federal service and to the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia.
"The prevailing weather conditions in May-June turned out to be less favorable for the agriculture industry due to high temperatures and lack of precipitation," the minister said. Precipitation is characterized by sharp locality and contrast even within one municipal district.
Marat Zyabbarov cited the data of the Hydrometeorology Department of the Republic of Tatarstan: a favorable precipitation situation in the Alekseevsky district – 83 mm, Zelenodolsk – 80; a serious negative situation in Kukmorsky-11 mm, Laishevsky-17, Almetyevsk-23, Muslyumovsky-30 mm.
The Minister noted that the land reclamation program helps to mitigate the effects of dry conditions. Since 2011, 35 thousand hectares of irrigated land have been put into operation. So, the situation is stable for potatoes and vegetables – these crops are under irrigation. This year, it is planned to grow about 100 thousand tons of potatoes and 55 thousand tons of vegetables in agricultural formations and peasant farms.
Speaking about the availability of feed, the minister said: the feed wedge is 760 thousand hectares, of which 445 thousand hectares are perennial grasses. Since the first mowing of herbs, less than last year's volume has been harvested. In total, in 2021, it is necessary to prepare: 322.0 thousand tons of hay, haylage-2.3 million tons, silage-2.6 million tons. As of June 21, 747 thousand tons of haylage were harvested.
Rustam Minnikhanov instructed to monitor the weather situation in the republic in order to minimize losses and preserve the potential of agricultural crops. "We need to think about where we can get feed for animal husbandry, how we will save livestock, including in private farmsteads," he said.
In addition, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan instructed to monitor the situation in the neighboring regions. "We have already had such a situation in 2010, when there was a severe drought," he said. – It is necessary to mobilize our internal resources." High air temperature and lack of precipitation can lead to serious consequences.
The President of Tatarstan also said that a regular meeting of the commission will be held on June 30. "Until June 30, a decision on the introduction of an emergency situation is not yet taken," he said. - We need to finally understand whether to enter an emergency mode or not. If there is the same situation, then an emergency is mandatory."
Rustam Minnikhanov also said that today it is important to clarify the situation with the state and stocks of feed in the districts – in each farm, settlement. He also instructed to analyze what credit resources the republic has and in which banks - for possible assistance to agricultural producers. "We need to understand what credit resources are pledged and for which banks," he said. - In the current situation, we will apply to the federal government for a postponement. These issues also need to be worked out. The situation in the republic is difficult ."