Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Dagestan Nariman Abdulmutalibov held a meeting with the director of the Dagestan Experimental Station, a branch of the Federal Research Center "All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources. N.I. Vavilov" - VIR Kishtili Kurkiev, reported in regional government press release.
The meeting discussed issues of carrying out breeding work to develop new varieties of grain, vegetable and fruit crops, as well as creating conditions for effective interaction between the institution and regional executive authorities and Dagestan farmers.
According to Kishtili Kurkiev, in 2022, by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources was established on the basis of the Dagestan OS VIR. The branch conducts scientific work on the conservation, selection and genetic study and use of the biodiversity of cultivated plants and their wild relatives.
To date, the station employs about 40 scientific and technical workers, three of them with a doctorate degree and 6 candidates of science in the specialties "breeding and seed production of agricultural crops" and "genetics".
“Thanks to the financial support of the Government of the Republic and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Dagestan, we have begun work on the development of seed production of vegetable crops, a laboratory for micropropagation of fruit, berry crops and grapes has been created. This allowed us to increase the production of elite seed and planting material.
The station has 50 hectares of land suitable for cultivation, as well as material, technical and other resources for growing 40-60 tons of elite seeds of grain crops and up to 15 tons of vegetable seeds (beets, cabbage, carrots, onions, etc.). A further increase in the number of manufactured products is limited by the lack of sufficient land resources and insufficient material and technical equipment,” said Kurkiev.
Vice Prime Minister Nariman Abdulmutalibov, in turn, stressed that the center is doing very important work, especially in the current conditions, when the issue of ensuring food security is on the list of priority tasks for the leadership of the region and the country.
“Under the conditions of sanctions, the issue of developing seed production and breeding varieties of grain and vegetable crops that will produce a good harvest is especially acute. We must provide every citizen of the republic with sufficient food products required for an active and healthy lifestyle. But this cannot be done without teamwork. Therefore, we should combine the efforts of the experimental station, executive authorities, and, of course, our farmers. I am sure that if we build a well-coordinated work, the results will not be long in coming. And as for the material and technical equipment and land resources, we will consider the possibility of solving this problem,” the Deputy Prime Minister assured, the press service of the Government of the region reports.