Tests of innovative fertilizers, plant protection products and feed in 2021 will be held in six regions of Russia. The farms will be provided with biological products free of charge and will be provided with the help of consultants.
According to the calculations of the experts of the Russian Agricultural Bank, the cost of agricultural production with a simultaneous increase in yield can be reduced by 30-40 percent. The study is at the disposal of Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
The project to support biologized and organic agriculture is being conducted by the Innopraktika non-state development institute at Moscow State University in cooperation with industry universities and businesses.
In 2020, tests were carried out in the Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan regions, as well as at the sites of the PhosAgro, Miratorg and AFG National holdings. The enterprises used plant growth regulators, silage cultures, fungicides, and probiotics for livestock. A significant increase in yield was recorded, a decrease in the load on agrobiocenosis and a decrease in plant diseases.
According to Innopraktika, a large-scale introduction of biological products can additionally bring the economy of the Voronezh region up to 14 billion rubles, Ryazan - up to seven, Nizhny Novgorod - up to six.
Now the Belgorod and Tambov regions, as well as the Krasnodar Territory, are joining the project. The tests in agricultural holdings will also continue. The support is carried out by specialists from the Russian Agricultural Center, as well as from the agricultural universities of Belgorod, Voronezh, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Michurinsk and Ryazan.
You can learn about the progress of the research on the platform "Own Farming", where live broadcasts, virtual tours of laboratories and educational seminars are planned. There will also be available for ordering and the biological products themselves, which have successfully passed the tests.
The Rosselkhozbank believes that the use of high-tech drugs (biological fertilizers, feed additives, plant protection products and plant growth stimulants) will reduce the cost of agricultural production by a third, increase yields by 20-30 percent and improve the quality characteristics of products.
According to the estimates of the marketing company Abercade, in Russia biological products are used for only two percent of arable land, while in Europe they cultivate 80 percent of crops, in the United States - about half. With a "European" level of processing, the market for biological plant protection products in our country can amount to about 100 billion rubles a year. There are prerequisites for the emergence of innovative industries focused on the needs of biologized and organic agriculture.
In Russia, it is still in its infancy. For comparison, in China, the consumption of "green" or environmentally friendly agricultural products reaches $ 300 billion per year, in the United States - $ 150 billion. In Russia, the volume of sales of organic products at the end of 2020 was estimated at 10 billion rubles. The total capacity of the food market reached 10 trillion rubles.
Prospects
The share of "organic" in the structure of food consumed in Russia accounted for about 0,1 percent, noted in the Rosselkhozbank. However, according to analysts' forecasts, the domestic organic market will grow by an average of 10-12 percent per year.
The impetus for the development of the sub-industry will be given by the federal law "On products with improved properties", adopted in the first reading in March 2021. The eco-friendly products are expected to be marketed under a separate Green Standard brand. According to the calculations of the specialized departments, they can label about 10-15 percent of the agricultural products exported from Russia.
The most promising areas for the development of organic agriculture are such areas as the production of vegetables in open ground and dairy cattle breeding, added the Russian Agricultural Bank. These are the segments where the share of farms is quite high. They are competitive and mobile enough to meet the growing demand for organic. It can also be stimulated by high investment activity in the field of milk processing. And the demand for "green" milk, in turn, will shape the demand for organic feed.