The Far East is a unique region, unlike any other. However, few people know that in the harsh conditions of the local climate, agriculture is developing at an enviable pace. And among the large list of agricultural crops, heat-loving potatoes are successfully grown. Representatives of the scientific community and the agricultural sector of the Far Eastern Federal District spoke about the situation in potato growing and their work experience.
Variety preferences
Ashot Nazaretyan from the Amur Region, created a peasant farm in 2019 to grow potatoes for the needs of his own catering business. He started with an area of 7 hectares, but, as they say, he got used to it, and in 2022, 80 hectares were already allocated for cultivation. The entrepreneur prefers varieties of foreign selection, including Gala, Adretta, Rosara, Koroleva Anna. From domestic in the fields of the farm, you can see the varieties Aurora and Luck. The highest rates were achieved with Aurora and Veneta, the yield of which is 40 tons per hectare.
Own peasant farm in Primorsky Krai Oleksandr Morozov formed in 2010. In the first season I planted about 3 hectares, but gradually increased the area under potatoes to 100 hectares. According to the observations of the farmer, varieties with a growing season of 65-75 days perform best. They have time to grow on spring moisture and "get away" from diseases caused by fogs from the sea. There are quite a lot of such varieties, but many leaders of the all-Russian ratings do not give impressive results here. But Bellarosa with a yield of 30 tons per hectare, on the contrary, has become a pleasant discovery for the agrarian.
Head of the Department of Potato and Vegetable Growing, A.K. Chaika Federal Scientific Center for Agrobiotechnologies of the Far East Dmitry Volkov said that in recent years, the Far East Federal District has been relying on varieties of its own selection, created for the local climate.
In Primorye, one of the most popular was Kazachok - a variety of the middle late group from local breeders. Amber, created in the region in 2006, is also cultivated on large areas. It is still in demand due to its high yield and resistance to fungal diseases.
Potatoes of Magadan and Kamchatka selection also occupy vast sown areas in the federal district. Varieties from other Russian regions are also presented, including the early Meteor and Gulliver, the authorship of specialists from the A. G. Lorkh Federal State Budgetary Institution of Potatoes. Both have proven themselves well and are grown in many farms. Of the foreign varieties, Adretta and Sante are in the lead: varieties appeared on the market in the early 1990s, but are still in demand.
Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Biotechnology of Field Crops and Potato Breeding, Federal State Budgetary Institution "Kamchatka Research Institute of Agriculture" Vera Gainatulina She noted that early and mid-early varieties are mainly produced in the region, because late potatoes simply do not ripen. These include, for example, Geyser and Vulkan of their own selection, the seeds of which were rehabilitated in 2019, and last season a super-super elite was obtained. Personal subsidiary farms, cultivating more than half of potato areas in Kamchatka, immediately appreciated the advantages of these varieties. And the technology for their production on an industrial scale is already being developed.
A new ultra-early variety Zhemchuzhina Kamchatka is being prepared for release, which is undergoing state tests today. Its potential yield is about 45 tons per hectare, which should attract people who actively grow potatoes for their own needs.
Monsoons and typhoons
The climatic conditions of the Far Eastern Federal District are called extreme without exaggeration.
Dmitry Volkov explained that in the south of the Far Eastern Federal District, in Primorsky Krai and the southern part of Khabarovsk, a monsoon climate prevails. Spring comes early here, and potato planting begins in late April or early May. These territories are characterized by a large amount of precipitation falling in July-August, and frequent typhoons. Droughts and abnormally high temperatures are also not uncommon.
The main problem of the local climate Oleksandr Morozov counts the rains that can pour non-stop for weeks. Floods and floods have become commonplace. So, in 2022, half of the potato crops were washed away on the farmer's farm, and the losses amounted to about 2 thousand tons.
У Ashot Nazaretyan a year earlier, after overflowing the banks of the Amur River, 60 hectares of potato fields were flooded. As a result, only a plot of about 10 hectares was removed.
The north of the region, which includes the Kamchatka Territory, is distinguished by the most severe conditions for potato growing. Landing in these places is carried out in late spring-early summer, and harvesting begins in August. Given the short growing season and the limited number of sunny days, every warm day counts for crop growth.
In the Far Eastern Federal District, as noted Dmitry VolkovWinter comes early enough. The first frosts are recorded in the second half of September, so farmers need to harvest the entire crop no later than October 1.
Features of local soils require the mandatory application of fertilizers, otherwise crops show a minimum yield. This is especially true for the Kamchatka Territory, where there are light volcanic soils and a leaching type of water regime. And in the Amur region, the lands are rocky, and therefore it is necessary to use a two-row potato cultivation technology.
Away from the center
As throughout Russia, there is an acute shortage of qualified personnel in the agriculture of the Far Eastern Federal District.
According to Ashot Nazaretyannew employees have to be trained on their own. There are only a few certified specialists, because graduates of agricultural universities and technical schools do not want to work in the industry because of low wages and difficult working conditions.
Oleksandr Morozov attracts staff with social programs. Providing people with housing, the farmer in 10 years gives comfortable houses to the property of employees. Having managed to put down roots at this time, they, as a rule, remain at the enterprise.
In the federal district, there is an acute shortage of potato and vegetable stores, especially those that meet modern realities and are equipped with automation.
As told Oleksandr Morozov, most of the warehouses used by farmers are hopelessly outdated and in need of reconstruction. On his farm, he built a vegetable store equipped with a climate control system for 1,25 thousand tons. However, it is no longer enough for the needs of the farmer.
There is a storage for products, designed for a thousand tons, and a farm Ashot Nazaretyan. But with the increase in production and the current demand in the market, the introduction of new capacities will certainly be required.
According to Faith Gainatulina, this problem also negatively affects the development of seed production in the federal district. The requirements for storage conditions for planting material are quite high, and in order to meet them, storage facilities must be high-tech.
In the regions farthest from the federal center, according to Dmitry Volkov, do not lack fertilizers and plant protection products.
A wide range of plant protection products is offered by companies representing global suppliers of these products. But it is necessary to order mineral fertilizers for the next season in advance, already in the fall. Otherwise, as pointed out Ashot Nazaretyan, in the spring you can not find them in the right amount.
Vera Gainatulina confirmed that PPPs and fertilizers are purchased first. Due to the long delivery time, it is important to have time to submit orders before the end of the calendar year so that everything is in stock by spring.
Before reaching the territory of the Far Eastern Federal District, the necessary goods travel hundreds, even thousands of kilometers. Their price also includes transportation costs, which, according to estimates Alexandra Morozova, up to 15 percent of the cost of "chemistry" and means for plant nutrition.
Bet on domestic
Due to waterlogging of soils, the highest productivity is shown by powerful equipment with high cross-country ability from foreign companies. But, as it turned out, many potato growers in the Far Eastern Federal District prefer its domestic counterparts.
Ashot Nazaretyan I thought about purchasing an energy-saturated combine harvester from one of the world's famous brands. But for all their advantages, such machines also have disadvantages. The delivery time of spare parts through Moscow can reach 1,5-2 months. Therefore, farmers, if they buy Western equipment, try to have Russian or Belarusian machines in the wings. For example, the entrepreneur's farm has three domestic potato harvesters and two Japanese ones.
Japanese equipment for planting and harvesting potatoes, rented from local farmers, is also used in the Kamchatka Research Institute of Agriculture. Vera Gainatulina speaks of these machines as reliable and efficient. But this small-sized compact equipment is more suitable for processing small areas, and in large farms it can cause prolonged cleaning.
In KFH Alexandra Morozova they prepare for the season in advance and try to buy the most demanded spare parts in advance. The combines that are used here are from European manufacturers, but the tractors are Belarusian.
According to Dmitry Volkov, The situation with the technical equipment of the industry has recently changed for the better. Thanks to state assistance in the form of subsidies and grants, the parks of equipment are updated and replenished not only by farmers and agricultural enterprises, but also by research institutes.
Towards a new strategy
The Far East has not bypassed the problems of the current season related to the sale of potatoes.
As noted by Ashot Nazaretyan, there are about 900 tons of products in the storage of the farm, and sales have not really started here yet. The cost of tubers went down in the fall, at the height of the harvest, when deliveries of potatoes from other regions began. Despite the low prices, there are no wholesale buyers, and the farmer has to retail.
In 2022, large farms of the Far Eastern Federal District put their crops in storage, expecting a rise in the price of their products. But even at the beginning of the new year, the market situation remains unchanged.
Due to their mentality, the Russian agrarian usually hopes that a buyer for agricultural products will be found without much effort on his part. But it seems that in the face of fierce competition, this scheme ceases to work.
According to Alexandra Morozova, last year the farms of Primorye received a good harvest. But there are no prices for potatoes, wholesale sales are low, consumer demand is low, there are no processing enterprises. Local warehouses are full of products, and no one knows how to sell them. In addition, imported potatoes continue to enter the Far Eastern market.
Ashot Nazaretyan I'm sure it needs to be done differently now. In his KFH, he plans to open a sales department that will work on the basis of a carefully calibrated strategy. It is also necessary to create capacities for washing, packaging and deep processing in order to produce goods that can be offered to the HoReCa sector, chain stores and end consumers.
Waiting for the seeds
To solve the issue of providing farmers with planting material in the Far Eastern Federal District, there is a lack of a well-organized system for its production. Several research institutes are successfully operating here, engaged in selection and original seed production of domestic and foreign varieties. However, there are only a few farms that continue growing and replicating elite potatoes in the federal district.
Only Primorye provides itself with seeds of high reproduction by almost 100 percent, which is also due to the milder climate of the region. According to Dmitry Volkov, first of all, work is carried out with our own varieties, as well as under license agreements with other breeding centers.
The Potato Breeding and Seed Center of the Federal Scientific Center for Agrobiotechnologies of the Far East cooperates with the largest local seed producer, Putsilovskoye LLC. The enterprise propagates the original material received from scientists, and from here the seeds are sent to the Khabarovsk Territory, the Amur Region, Kamchatka and other regions of the federal district.
But coastal producers grow a limited set of varieties. Those who are not satisfied with this list have to write out planting material from central Russia. As Alexander Morozov notes, delivery is associated with certain difficulties. Sending seeds in advance is risky, as the cargo passes through the territory of Yakutia, where temperatures are extremely low. And when it gets warmer there, the planting campaign for Primorye is already over.
It speaks of the lack of choice Ashot Nazaretyan. The farmer is convinced of the need to create local enterprises that can meet the needs of agricultural producers both in the Amur Region and throughout the Far Eastern Federal District. Every time ordering seeds thousands of kilometers from the place of their planting is inexpedient and too costly.
According to Vera GainatulinaThe Kamchatka Territory also has opportunities for self-sufficiency in seed potatoes. But so far, most of it - mainly varieties of foreign selection - is supplied to the peninsula from Primorye, Siberia or the European part of the country. And this is fraught with the importation of pests and diseases that are not characteristic of a territorially isolated region.
With a vision for the future
The geographical location of the Far Eastern Federal District determines the level of development of local potato growing. And it's not just the climate. Financing of science, selection, seed production of remote territories is carried out by the federal center in insufficient volumes. The Far East is not even included in most government programs to support agriculture.
However, positive changes are possible already in 2023. Vera Gainatulina said that the issue of including a number of Far Eastern scientific institutions in the structure of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution “FRC All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources named after N.I. Vavilov” (VIR) has been resolved. Joining one of the leading institutes of the country, first of all, will allow you to get your own laboratory base for conducting more effective scientific activities.
Working in the most difficult conditions, crop producers do not intend to rest on their laurels and are building ambitious plans.
Ashot Nazaretyan wants to increase the area under potatoes in the coming season to 100-150 hectares, and over the next few years - up to 500 hectares. Today, the farmer is preparing to purchase a high-tech line for laying tubers for storage and removal from storage. By the end of the season it will be installed and the farm will take another step towards mechanization.
Oleksandr Morozov focused on solving problems with the sale of products. The potential of the Far Eastern Federal District in the sphere of potato growing is huge, and the number of inhabitants of its regions does not reach even 8 million. Limited demand is holding farmers back from moving to work on a much larger scale. In search of ways to sell, the entrepreneur set his sights on foreign consumers. An excellent option, in his opinion, would be to enter the markets located next to China, South Korea and Japan with their millions of people. Anyone who organizes the supply of cheap and tasty Russian potatoes to these countries will get every chance for further development.
Sees good prospects and Dmitry Volkov, who believes that local producers can increase production and increase potato yields. A strong scientific base, qualified personnel and a strong school of potato growing have been preserved in the Far East since Soviet times. And modern breeders successfully create new varieties that confidently compete with foreign ones. And although the working conditions for farmers are really difficult, you can work here and show excellent results.
Irina Berg