The area is located on the East European Plain, within the Volga Upland.
Area 43, 3 thousand sq. km. The territory of the region from west to east is 330 km, from north to south - 204 km.
The region is located at the junction of three natural zones: central chernozem, non-chernozem and arid Volga.
Population region according to Rosstat is 1 people, of which 360% are rural residents.
Climate moderately continental, with rather hot summers (average July temperature + 19 ... 21 ° С) and cold winters (-11 ° ... 13 ° С). Precipitation is the most unstable element of the climate: the annual amount in the region fluctuates within 450-500 mm, in dry years it drops to 350 mm, and in wet years it rises to 775 mm. Spring droughts are characteristic, dry periods are often repeated in summer.
Natural and climatic conditions and agricultural potential Penza region allows you to get a decent harvest of potatoes.
At the beginning of this year, the regional governor set a serious task for the region's farmers - to increase the production of marketable potatoes.
High scores
Over the past five years, the cultivated area of potatoes in agricultural organizations and peasant farms of the Penza region has grown significantly: from 2,7 thousand hectares in 2009 to 5,0 thousand hectares in 2013. In 2014, potatoes occupy 5,8 thousand hectares in the organized sector; in total, agricultural producers of all forms of ownership will have to remove potatoes from an area of 39,7 thousand hectares.
The gross harvest of potatoes in 2014 in agricultural organizations and peasant farms of the Penza region is planned at the level of 80 thousand tons. These are serious plans for the region's farmers. So, in 2009, the gross harvest of potatoes in the commercial sector amounted to 37,3 thousand tons, in 2013 - 45,8 thousand tons.
At the time of preparing the material (by August 27), agricultural enterprises of all forms of ownership harvested potatoes from an area of 24,62 thousand hectares, 325,67 thousand tons were accumulated, the average yield was 132 kg / ha.
In organized farms, potatoes were harvested from an area of 367 hectares, 4,92 thousand tons of potatoes were harvested, the average yield is 131 kg / ha. Potato harvesting is being carried out at a good pace in the Shemysheysky, Lopatinsky, Vadinsky and Penza districts of the Penza region.
Regional Support Programs
To carry out ambitious plans and achieve decent results in potato production - this is exactly what the state support measures through the regional Ministry of Agriculture are aimed at.
This year, in support of the production of potatoes and vegetables, agricultural producers of the Penza region provided unrelated support in the field of crop production in the amount of 6 rubles per 200 hectare of sown area, 1% of the refinancing rate for short-term (up to 100 year) and long-term (from 1 up to 2 years and from 8 to 2 years) loans and borrowings.
Grants up to 1,5 million rubles have been submitted on a competitive basis for the creation of peasant (farmer) farms specializing in the production, storage, packaging and processing of potatoes and vegetables as part of the departmental target program “Support for beginning farmers for the period 2012-2014”.
This year, a grant of 1,5 million rubles for the development of potato and vegetable growing will receive nine participants in program events. Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture of the region has announced the second stage of the competition for accepting applications for participation in this departmental target program.
In addition, this year, agricultural producers subsidized part of the cost of purchasing elite potato seeds in the amount of 500 rubles per ton of seeds. A part of the costs of creating logistics centers is subsidized as part of an economically significant regional program
"Creation of logistics centers aimed at ensuring sustainable development of potato, vegetable, fruit and other agricultural products in the Penza region for 2014-2016."
This program provides for reimbursement of 30% of construction costs (reconstruction, modernization), the purchase of machinery and equipment for sorting and laying for storage, processing equipment and lines for part-time processing, packaging, storage, refrigeration equipment, ventilation systems and climate control.
Currently, a large project is underway in the Penza region in the Belinsky district to create a logistics center for the production, storage and sale of potatoes by Bashmakovsky Bread CJSC. Each stage of the logistics center is a complex for the storage and pre-sale preparation of potatoes and vegetables with a capacity of 15 thousand tons, consisting of six arched-type storages of 2,5 thousand tons each and a gallery building connecting them, in which sorting processing lines will be located and packaging.
SEED FUND
The Penza Research Institute of Agriculture, located in the working village of Lunino, helps to provide seed potatoes to the region. The Institute has been successfully operating for over 100 years. Employees of Penz-NIIISH offer consumers healthy seeds of 21 varieties of potatoes.
In this list there are early varieties (Zhukovsky early, Zhigulevsky, Darenka, Vineta, Penza precocity, Duckling, Luck, Bullfinch); mid-early (Svitanok Kiev, Ramsay, Russian souvenir, Tale); mid-season (Roco); medium late (Lorch).
In addition to the listed zoned varieties, Sante, Valiza, Golubizna, Robin, Master, Petersburg, Nikulinsky, Mother-in-law, Batya, Bryansk delicacy are also available. All varieties are characterized by high productivity, resistance to diseases, excellent presentation.
HARVEST IMPLEMENTATION
Speaking about the sale of potatoes, it is worth noting that this important issue is decided by the local Ministry of Agriculture. Working meetings are regularly held with agricultural producers and representatives of retail chains. To date, the result is already there: local potatoes have arrived at chain stores. This is a big step for commodity producers and a positive result of the systematic integrated work of the Penza Region Government.
Now there is an agreement on the supply of certain volumes of potatoes to the stores of local Penza chains and federal retailers. In the region, the interaction of trade enterprises of all formats with Penza producers is growing annually. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture is working on the issue of creating “farmers' corners” in trade networks, which will present environmentally friendly products of local producers at affordable prices, so to speak, “from the garden to the counter”.
The sale of potatoes of a new crop grown in the Penza region began in the networks of the Trade Union “My District Shop”. Here, they are satisfied with the quality of potatoes and look forward to further fruitful cooperation. In retail, potatoes are sold at a price of 12 rubles. 90 kopecks for 1 kg.
We can safely say that the Penza region is able to provide the population of the region with high-quality potatoes. In addition, there are real opportunities to supply surplus crops throughout Russia.
Today, given the prevailing political and economic market conditions, we can say that the special economic measures introduced to ensure state security are aimed at protecting the interests of the country, including the interests of food.
The sanctions introduced, perhaps, will affect agricultural producers on a positive side.
Over the past few years, our agro-industrial complex has been demonstrating a dynamic growth in the production of agricultural food products, opening up new opportunities for domestic agricultural producers, in particular, Penza.
The food market will be filled with fresh, high-quality food products, which, as the structure of consumption shows, are more preferable for our citizens than foreign ones.
The material was prepared by the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Penza Region