On December 14, at the “government hour” in the State Duma, the Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev made a report “On the results of the work of the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation in 2021 and the main tasks for 2022”.
As the head of the Ministry of Agriculture noted, even in a difficult current situation, the industry demonstrates stable results. At the end of the year, a positive index of the agro-industrial complex is forecasted. Next year, the department expects that this figure will increase to 101%, and the agricultural production index - to 101,3%.
At present, in Russia as a whole, seasonal field work has been practically completed. According to Dmitry Patrushev, the year turned out to be extremely difficult for farmers: since the last winter sowing and throughout the season, the weather has constantly made adjustments to the agricultural production process. Natural emergencies were declared in 16 regions. In addition, the industry is being affected by the pandemic.
“Despite this, the harvest in terms of the main items exceeds the indicators planned in the state program. The volume of grains in net weight will exceed 123 million tons, of which about 76 million tons will be wheat. Let me emphasize that this fully meets the domestic needs and export opportunities of our country, ”the Minister said. Also, 23 million tons of oilseeds, more than 40 million tons of sugar beets, about 7 million tons of vegetables will be obtained - all these indicators are higher than the level of 2020. The potato harvest in the organized sector will exceed 6,7 million tons. In addition, the record for the collection of fruits and berries will be updated.
At present, together with the constituent entities, the structure of sown areas for the future harvest has already been worked out. In general, the area in 2022 will grow by more than 1 million hectares. The increase is planned for spring crops, including buckwheat, as well as for sugar beets, rapeseed, soybeans. Particular attention will be paid to increasing the production of potatoes and vegetables in open ground.
Strengthening the material and technical base is of priority importance for the development of crop production. Dmitry Patrushev noted that farmers have no problems with seeds and fuels and lubricants. Systematic work is underway to update the agricultural machinery fleet, which significantly increases production efficiency. For support, preferential leasing, preferential loans, grants for the development of farms and other instruments are provided. Thanks to this, the pace of acquisition of machinery and equipment is increasing annually. It is estimated that in 2021 about 63 thousand units will be purchased, of which 10 thousand - through special programs of Rosagroleasing.
Speaking about the development of animal husbandry, the Minister indicated that this year milk production is planned in the amount of 32,3 million tons, which is 110 thousand tons more than last year's level. As for the meat sector, according to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, today, all over the world, animal husbandry suffers colossal losses from especially dangerous animal diseases. All measures have been taken in Russia to stabilize the situation, which made it possible to prevent the most negative scenario. As a result, the production of livestock and poultry in 2021 will grow and amount to about 15,7 million tons.
For 10 months of this year, the food production index amounted to 102,1%. There is also an increase in the production of cheeses, cereals, semi-finished meat products, sausages, bakery, confectionery and canned fruits and vegetables.
“Thus, I would like to emphasize once again that the volume of production of agricultural products allows us to fully cover internal needs. For most of the positions, the indicators of the Food Security Doctrine have been met or exceeded. We work in categories where the indicator of self-sufficiency has not yet been achieved. These are milk, potatoes, as well as new ones included in the Doctrine from 2020: vegetables and melons, fruits and berries, ”said Dmitry Patrushev.
A separate area of the Ministry's work is related to ensuring the availability of products. At the same time, as the head of the department emphasized, a balance is needed in which food prices remain at an acceptable level, but the profitability of production and investment attractiveness will not decrease.