On October 26 in Moscow, at the Higher School of Economics, a round table was held on the topic: “Prospects for the market of biological plant protection products and fertilizers in the Russian Federation" The meeting was moderated by Evgenia Serova, chief advisor to the director of the UN FAO International Investment Center, professor, head of the department of agricultural economics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. The round table was attended by representatives of the scientific community and employees of the largest agrotechnical companies on the Russian market. The main topic of the meeting was a discussion of the development of bioproducts in the agricultural sector, as well as the need to introduce advanced practices from related sciences for the development of this area.
Nadezhda Orlova, head of the department of economics of innovation in the agro-industrial complex of the Institute of Agrarian Research of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, noted: "Even in the context of ongoing sanctions, the Russian agricultural market shows good results and constant growth in exports of crop products, which actively influences the development of technologies in the Russian agro-industrial complex" The main trend in modern agriculture is developments at the intersection of the agricultural sector and other technological areas, such as: genetics, IT, artificial intelligence, robotics, etc. But biotechnologies are considered one of the most promising today, which contribute to increased productivity, improved survival and resistance to diseases, improving the quality of grown products. "Currently, biological plant protection products (BPPPs) occupy only 10-12% of the overall market of biotechnological solutions in Russia, however, in terms of growth and export potential, this is one of the key segments“- added Nadezhda Orlova.
In her introductory report she spoke about the classification and purpose of bioproducts Olga Maksimova, Head of Biological Products and Plant Nutrition at Syngenta: "Our company distinguishes three categories of bioproducts, based on the purpose of their use. The first is biostimulants. We include special nutrition in the second group - these are water-soluble fertilizers, micro- and mesoelements. The third category is biological control products: biofungicides, bioinsecticides and other products based on biomaterials that control biological stress in the form of diseases of various crops" According to the expert, biological products cannot completely replace chemical plant protection products: integration of two protection methods is necessary to achieve a more sustainable result. Using an integrated approach helps preserve up to 72% of the plant's genetic potential.
«The main feature of biological methods of protection is that they can be effective in areas where chemical ones are ineffective, emphasized Pavel Mezentsev, head of the Moscow branch of Sibbiopharm. - For example, our company has a product to combat mosquito-borne malaria. Because of this, most of the processing takes place near bodies of water, where biological products are more effective and are safe for the environment. Thus, biotechnology is an urgent means of solving problems in certain niches that are not closed in the traditional way, the search for which becomes the main task of microbiologists».
Continued the conversation about advanced developments Vakhtang Javakhia, head of the group of biotechnology of physiologically active substances of the Federal Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The speaker spoke in detail about the work that is actively being carried out by the Russian scientific community in the direction of bioproducts and noted their key direction: “Today we are actively focused on the development of bioproducts, but we see their further development not in replacing chemical means of protection, but in creating symbiosis in their use. Thus, our biodevelopments, when used with chemical agents, complement them and allow us to reduce the amount of chemicals used, which allows us to use advanced inorganic means of protection, but also return to older and classic inorganic means of protection, which significantly reduces the cost of plant treatment" Now the biological products of the Russian Academy of Sciences have successfully passed all laboratory tests and have begun to be used in some farmland. “We now have plans to test laboratory studies with different types of plants and soils, including under the most stressful conditions, which can prove to us the effectiveness of not only our drugs, but also the chosen approach,” the scientist noted.
Next, the experts moved on to an active discussion of the problems that affect the creation and implementation of biological protection agents in Russia. One of them, according to Chairman of the Board of Directors of PA Sibiopharm Alexander Krichevsky, there is an acute shortage of personnel. "The higher the technology of protection products, the more serious the requirements for agronomists involved in plant protection. Today in Russia the training and graduation of specialized specialists has practically ceased. The training of specialized specialists with their internship in the country's leading agricultural holdings is of utmost importance", stated Alexander Nikolaevich.
He spoke in more detail about this issue Stanislav Aleynik, rector of Belgorod State Agrarian University: “The university is now focused on working with business representatives to initiate individual developments and on opportunities for students to test their knowledge in practice. Also within the structure of the University there is a measurement department of the scientific and practical center. In this center, for 30 years, there have been 6 separate field stations, which present all the basic crop production technologies used in modern world practice, which allows us to evaluate advanced plant protection products, including biological ones».
The following problem was highlighted Tatyana Shulga, development and research manager, Uralchem-Innovations. According to the speaker, the introduction of biological means of protection directly depends on people’s requests. "In the modern world, it is the demand of end consumers that determines the development of bioproducts. The use of BSPPs in itself is more expensive for agricultural companies, so their use is becoming popular in those countries where the population has a higher demand for products with appropriate labeling. Therefore, now the markets of countries with a high standard of living are becoming the highest priority for the export of bioproducts"- added Tatyana Nikolaevna.
I agreed with the opinion of the representative of the Uralchem company Alexey Temichev, Deputy Director of the Center for Selection and Primary Seed Production of EkoNiva-Semena LLC. The speaker noted: “Most of the population interested in consuming biologically protected products is located in large cities. In the domestic market, the demand for bioprotection technologies is generated by agricultural holdings working with large networks of megacities, million-plus cities or urban agglomerations».
I also supported Tatyana Shulga’s theses on exports Director of NVP "BashInkom" Vyacheslav Kuznetsov. According to him, the company is now focused on exports to the CIS countries, because it is there that unique problems are observed that require the development of individual strains of protection, which creates an open niche for manufacturers of biological protection products and actively allows for development not only in the markets of importing countries, but also inside Russia.
“For the development and active implementation of bioproducts, appropriate conditions are needed that would help the development of this area,” noted Alexander Kerzhner, Deputy General Director for Development, Agroferment. – To create these conditions, support from the state is necessary. First of all, this can be done with the help of government demand generation tools. Secondly, the development of this area of defense requires financial subsidies in the form of grants for research work.”
The issue of lack of subsidies for development was also raised Alexey Temichev. He noted that today subsidies for biotechnologies in the agricultural sector are at the same level as for all agriculture, which slows down the development of this area.
During the discussion, the speakers came to the general conclusion that despite the presence of a number of systemic problems that impede the active development of bioproducts, this area still remains one of the highest priorities and promising for the further development of the agro-industrial complex. To achieve greater results, a constant exchange of best practices between the scientific community and business representatives is necessary.