The Ministry of Agriculture expects the positive dynamics of farm production to continue in all key areas
This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev on February 17 at the plenary session of the XXXIII Congress of the Association of Peasant (Farm) Enterprises and Agricultural Cooperatives of Russia (AKKOR). At the event, which was attended by delegates from 70 regions of the country, as well as the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, other departments and industry state-owned companies, discussed the prospects for the farming movement in the country, measures of state support for small businesses and development of rural areas.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture read out to the participants of the event a welcome speech from the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin. According to the Prime Minister, support for farming and cooperation is one of the priorities of state policy. The government will continue to pay serious attention to the development of small businesses, reduce administrative barriers, stimulate the emergence of new entrepreneurs, and create favorable conditions for farmers.
As Dmitry Patrushev noted, the farming community is one of the drivers for the development of rural areas and continues to demonstrate a stable growth in agricultural production. Last year, farms provided a third of the grain harvest. They are also actively engaged in the production of open ground vegetables and potatoes. In addition, last year a record volume of fruits and berries was obtained in Russia, and a significant part was produced by small-scale farms. They play an important role in the livestock sector, primarily in the dairy sector. In particular, peasant farms are systematically increasing their livestock, and over the past three years, the growth rate of milk production in farms has outpaced the dynamics of agricultural organizations.
“We expect that the positive dynamics will continue in all key areas. This includes a wide range of state support measures. Once again I would like to emphasize that all of them are available to small businesses. Significant funds from the federal and regional budgets are annually directed to this segment, which make up almost half of the total volume of direct support for agricultural producers,” Dmitry Patrushev said.
At the same time, a separate limit for preferential short-term and investment loans is provided for the small farms. Thanks to this, in 2021, small organizations signed more than 15 thousand contracts worth about 160 billion rubles, which is 30% more than a year earlier. In addition, there are mechanisms available exclusively to the IFC. This is support within the framework of the federal project "Acceleration of SMEs", as well as grants within the framework of a "stimulating" subsidy. Last year, about 12 billion rubles were allocated from the federal budget for these purposes.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture noted that thanks to the whole range of measures to support small forms, more than 62 thousand people have been involved in agriculture in three years. Almost 10 thousand new SMEs have been created, and over 43 thousand representatives of small agribusiness and private household plots have joined the agricultural cooperation.
One of the strategic tasks for the future is to make life in the countryside more comfortable. To this end, the Ministry of Agriculture has been implementing the state program “Integrated Development of Rural Territories” for the third year. According to Dmitry Patrushev, it is widely supported at all levels and is in great demand by the villagers. In 2020-2021, the activities of the state program covered more than 8 million people and 6.5 thousand settlements. More than 100,000 families have improved their living conditions, of which 96,000 have benefited from the “rural mortgage” program. In addition, 34,000 new jobs in various industries were created in rural areas in two years.