On November 30, the TASS press center summed up the results of the first agricultural micro-census of 2021. The event was attended by First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Deputy Head of Rosstat Igor Vasilyev and industry experts.
“Over the past five years, as the results of the micro-census show, agriculture has undergone serious structural changes in its development,” Vasilyev said.
According to Rosstat, in 2021 compared to 2016, the number of agricultural organizations decreased by 13,6% (from 36 thousand to 31,1 thousand organizations), the number of peasant (farmer) households and individual entrepreneurs - by a third (from 174,8 .118,3 thousand to 31 thousand). The number of personal subsidiary and individual households of citizens over the past five years has also fallen by almost 23,5%, from 16,2 million to XNUMX million households.
Simultaneously with the reduction in the number of farms, one of the main trends was their consolidation. “The average size of a farm increased by 2016 times compared to 1,5,” said Igor Vasilyev. The total area of agricultural land per one peasant farm increased from 226,5 to 351,6 hectares. The average area of personal subsidiary plots increased by 20%, from 0,5 to 0,6 ha.
The census also showed that agricultural organizations and farms prefer to grow grain, fodder and industrial crops.
Personal subsidiary farms remain the main potato producers in Russia: according to Rosstat, in 2021, households of citizens accounted for more than half - 66% - of the total potato sown area of the main agricultural producers. At the same time, citizens are reducing potato production: in 2016, private farms accounted for 74% of potato sown areas. If five years ago, citizens set aside 40% of all their farmland for potato harvest, then in 2021 - only 31%.
True, over five years, the share of potato cultivation was increased by agricultural organizations (from 15 to 19%), as well as peasant farms (from 11 to 15%). But their increase in production was not as fast as the reduction in production in personal subsidiary plots. According to the Potato Union, in the past few years, potato production in Russia has been declining from 0,7 to 1 million tons per year. “Personal subsidiary plots had a planned decrease due to various reasons - ranging from a decrease in the number of rural residents to a decrease in the number of vegetable gardens for summer residents. The increase in the organized sector was not as fast,” says Tatyana Gubina, head of the Potato Union staff.
This year, despite the rainy weather during the harvest, the organized sector (agricultural organizations and peasant farms) harvested more potatoes than last year - about 7,2 million tons against 6,8 million tons. personal subsidiary plots, the expert found it difficult. According to Rosstat, the total potato production in Russia in all categories of farms in 2021 was about 18,3 million tons.
There is “nothing tragic about the decline in potato production in private farms,” Gubina points out: “This volume is enough to feed the country and grow potatoes for seed.” But if you do not increase production in the organized sector and do not develop logistics, a negative trend may soon occur, so the industrial production of potatoes needs state support, Tatyana Gubina notes.
Last year, the Center for Industry Expertise of the Russian Agricultural Bank warned that by 2025, subsidiary farms may lose their status as the main suppliers of potatoes and carrots to the market: vegetable production in them may drop to 45% (in 2020, their share, according to experts, was 52%) . For comparison, in 2000, private farms produced 74% of all vegetables in Russia. Personal subsidiary plots were forced out of this market by the products of agricultural holdings with a more stable taste and quality, which are more convenient for city residents to buy in stores, while their own production is labor-intensive and subject to risks, including due to bad weather, Gubina explained.
The data of the 2021 agricultural micro-census are of great importance for the Ministry of Agriculture, as they provide an understanding of the results of measures to support agricultural producers, as well as how to correct them and introduce new ones, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut commented on the results of the agricultural census. “The first thing you can see is that small business in the number of players is declining, but at the same time it is growing larger. This means that the business is becoming more sustainable – if you don’t get bigger, you won’t develop,” said Loot.
Personal subsidiary farms remain leaders in vegetables, and the Ministry of Agriculture will continue to support them, Lut emphasized: “Vegetables are a difficult business for industrial production: if we go into industrial production in the dairy industry, then it is difficult to enter large volumes in vegetable and potato growing in industrial business ". Agroholdings now, she says, prefer simple crops such as grains and oilseeds, which require less labor and resources and are more profitable. “But we cannot live without vegetables, their prices must be reasonable and balanced for both the producer and the consumer, so this year we have launched a federal project on vegetable and potato growing, and here, of course, we are focusing on personal subsidiary farms and their support,” said Loot.