Marat Zyabbarov: farms of the republic need to strengthen work on the protection and nutrition of crops
During the period of dangerous agrometeorological conditions, the work on protection and nutrition of crops was intensified on farms of the republic. Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan - Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Zyabbarov told about this at a meeting in the Government House of Tatarstan.
The President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, held a videoconference meeting with all municipal districts.
The Minister said that as of today, the "dry season" has covered 26 municipal districts, soil drought - 6 districts, atmospheric drought - 2 districts. This Thursday, a meeting was held with the districts and subordinate structures on the current situation in agricultural formations with the designation of the necessary organizational and technological measures. On behalf of Rustam Minnikhanov, the acceptance of feed balance from the districts in the context of agricultural formations and rural settlements was organized.
Farmers continue to harvest feed. As of today, 181 thousand tons of hay (57% of the demand), 870 thousand tons of haylage (37%) have been harvested. There is a stock of feed left over from last year, but its volume is insufficient. In more than half of regions of the republic, there are enough stocks of dry and juicy feed for only 1-2 months, and in some areas there is no stock at all.
The drought affected the yield of forage crops. Compared to last year, 40 quintals less feed can be collected from one hectare. This trend is observed in 14 municipal districts. To preserve the yield of forage crops, several farms intensively carry out irrigation measures.
The predicted shortage of feed will have a particularly acute impact on farms that are engaged in dairy production. The dairy industry is now in a difficult situation. An increase in prices for high-energy and high-protein feed by up to 50%, an increase in energy prices, an increase in cost of repair and maintenance of imported equipment and spare parts by 30% led to a significant increase in the cost of milk production - up to 20%. As of June 1 of this year, the cost of 1 kg of milk increased by 2.90 rubles compared to the same period last year and amounted to 22.28 rubles without VAT per kilogram.
"The projected shortage of feed will entail additional unplanned costs for the purchase of them outside the republic to meet the needs in the winter period. Therefore, it is already necessary to outline a plan of measures to optimize costs. In parallel with a significant increase in the operating cost, there is a stagnation in prices for raw milk. At the current date, the average price for milk is 25 rubles 19 kopecks per kilogram without VAT with a plus of only 89 kopecks compared to the same period last year," the minister said.
To stabilize the price of milk, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan proposed to consider the issue of concluding long-term contracts with processing enterprises.
Meat prices have also been growing rapidly in recent months. The growth relative to 2020 was recorded by an average of 60%, which negatively affects the investment activity of agricultural enterprises. A separate risk is a decrease in planned investments in fixed assets due to a lack of cash. Financial investments in the amount of 26.5 billion rubles are planned for the implementation of 29 investment projects in the livestock industry for 30.5 thousand heads of dairy cattle.
An additional tool for maintaining the profitability of milk producers is the means of state support. In January-February of this year, subsidies for a liter of milk sold in the amount of 823 million rubles were allocated from the federal budget.
Rustam Minnikhanov stressed that current climatic conditions require the development of a reclamation complex. "For the future, we need to identify our bottlenecks, see where we can still work in terms of land reclamation. There is no other way. It is necessary to work on preserving moisture, develop drought-resistant varieties and make maximum use of the irrigation system. This is very important, " the President of the Republic of Tatarstan added.