This year, Sakhalin farmers plan to allocate about 2000 hectares for growing potatoes and about 600 hectares for open ground vegetables. This is enough to provide the inhabitants of the island region with fresh locally produced products.
As they say in the government of the Sakhalin region, a small sowing campaign in the region will begin in March with the sowing of cabbage and will last until May. Each farm has developed a special sowing schedule in accordance with the ripening time - from white to color, kohlrabi, red and other species. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants will also be planted. Seeds for sowing in greenhouses for seedlings have already been purchased in full.
The start of spring field work is scheduled for the first or second decade of May, depending on weather conditions.
“Agricultural producers have now begun sorting potato seeds put into storage last year. In total, 7,2 thousand tons are to be prepared. Also, farmers plan to purchase more than 500 tons of elite potato seeds for the purpose of variety renewal and variety change. In this we actively support them. Seed potatoes need to be renewed periodically, as long-term cultivation leads to a decrease in yield and quality of tubers. Therefore, we subsidize up to 70 percent of the cost of purchasing seeds, taking into account delivery to the region, - said Ekaterina Slivkina, head of the crop production department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Trade of the Sakhalin Region.
Seeds are purchased only in Russia. Providing farmers with them is one of the priority areas of state policy in the field of agriculture. In the island region, as well as throughout the country, systematic work is underway to develop selection and seed production of basic crops.
Interaction is built in constant contact between the authorities, science and agricultural producers. Thus, the regional government, within the framework of the regional state program for the development of agriculture, doubled funding for the implementation of measures for the scientific support of agricultural production.
In addition, today, on the basis of the SakhNIISH, scientists, in close cooperation with the island farmers, are resuming the technology of growing potato seed material of domestic varieties on a virus-free basis. The plans for this year are to grow a test-tube culture of microplants and mini-tubers, from which field generations of high reproduction potato seeds will be obtained.
On January 1, a federal project was launched in Russia aimed at developing the production of potatoes, as well as vegetables of closed and open ground. In the Sakhalin Region this year, on the terms of co-financing with the federal budget, the amount of support for island farmers in this area will be more than 23 million rubles, while the amount of funds from the regional budget will be more than 17 million rubles.
“Today, the Sakhalin Region maintains a leading position among the Far Eastern regions in terms of self-sufficiency in vegetables. Today, the island region provides itself with 66 percent of them. The main volume of production of local agricultural enterprises and farmers is open ground vegetables. Also, thanks to greenhouse complexes, today the residents of the region are provided with protected ground vegetables all year round, primarily tomatoes and cucumbers,” the island government notes.