Agricultural enterprises of the region will increase the sown areas of vegetables of the "borscht set" and potatoes in 2022. Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Agriculture of the Novosibirsk Region Yevgeny Leshchenko spoke about plans for the development of vegetable growing in the region during a working visit to the Dary Ordynska vegetable farm, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture reports.
At the moment, agricultural enterprises of the region have already sown 217 hectares of vegetables - this is 28% of the plan, and more than 2 thousand hectares of potatoes have been planted - this crop is located on 80% of the areas allocated for it.
The vegetable growers of the region have positive plans for the new season, according to the minister. “The sown area of open ground vegetables in agricultural organizations and farms will increase this year by 23% at once and will amount to 900 hectares. Potato sown areas will also increase, albeit a little less - by 8%, up to 3,2 thousand hectares, ”said Yevgeny Leshchenko.
According to the minister, the areas of vegetables and potatoes in the private households of citizens have been declining for a number of years. As a result, despite the increase in sown areas in agricultural enterprises, the region's self-sufficiency in vegetables of the "borscht set" remains low.
So, in 2021, in the Novosibirsk region, all categories of farms produced 162 thousand tons of vegetables and 292 thousand tons of potatoes. Self-sufficiency of the region in vegetables was 52%, potatoes - 81%. The missing volumes of products of the "borscht set" are imported into the region from other subjects of the Russian Federation and neighboring countries.
“To develop our own vegetable growing is now, perhaps, the most priority task for the agro-industrial complex of our region. Of course, vegetable growers, like other agricultural producers, enjoy the current federal and regional state support, but for the more active development of this sector in the region, additional measures must be taken. Indeed, among other things, to create vegetable farms, serious investments are required in the construction of vegetable stores, the installation of irrigation systems. Therefore, we have begun to form a program of state support for open-field vegetable growing in the Novosibirsk Region,” said Evgeny Leshchenko.
The farm "Gifts of Ordynska" is an example of how vegetable growing in Siberia can be done successfully. Established in 2009 almost from scratch, the farm gradually expanded its sown areas, increased yields, and is currently one of the largest producers of vegetables and potatoes in the region.
In 2022, the sown area here is almost 3 thousand hectares. Planting potatoes on the farm increased by 15% - up to 465 hectares, and crops of vegetables - in "Gifts of Ordynsk" they cultivate carrots, cabbage, beets, radishes, onions, and as an experiment, zucchini and pumpkin - by 25%.
The farm is actively purchasing modern agricultural equipment - in 2022 alone, 18 units were purchased, it is developing irrigation systems, modernizing warehouse complexes, and providing itself and neighboring farmers with seed potatoes and vegetable seedlings with a large supply.