By 2024, our country must fully meet the needs of the domestic market in seeds of the highest reproductions of breeding achievements. To this end, this year the amount of sown area will be increased by 20%, and next year - by 30%. This became known at a meeting on the problems of import substitution in agriculture, which was attended by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, State Duma deputies and heads of specialized scientific centers, the official website of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation reports.
The main topic of the meeting, which was held on the basis of the All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, was the implementation of the Doctrine of Food Security in Russia. Sergey Kabyshev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education, noted that for import substitution in the food sector, it is necessary to use all internal reserves as efficiently as possible.
“Science is a strategic resource of the state, and now society pays close attention to it, first of all, to the results of scientific activity,” said Sergey Kabyshev.
Vugar Bagirov, Director of the Department for Coordinating the Activities of Organizations in the Field of Agricultural Sciences of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, spoke about the results of the implementation of the Doctrine of Food Security in Russia. He recalled that in accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 18, 2021 No. 663-r, the Ministry of Education and Science is the responsible executor of the Doctrine in terms of providing seeds of higher reproductions of domestic selection of main agricultural crops.
Within the framework of the national project "Science and Universities" from 2020 to 2022. The Ministry of Education and Science of Russia has opened 114 new scientific laboratories in the field of breeding, seed production and molecular genetics.
Over the past eight years, budgetary funding for agricultural research organizations has more than doubled, from 6,6 billion to 15 billion rubles. Over the past two years, 35 billion rubles have been allocated for open 3,7 breeding and seed-growing and breeding centers, and 2,2 billion rubles of additional funding has been allocated for updating the instrumentation base. Thanks to this, domestic producers will be able to compete with foreign companies and be in demand on the world market.
In addition, last year the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation allocated 1,5 billion rubles for a leasing program for agricultural enterprises. By 2023, about 5 billion rubles will be allocated from the budget for the purchase of specialized breeding equipment.
Together with the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, within the framework of the federal project "Agrarian Science - a Step into the Future", the Ministry of Education and Science plans to create at least five agrobiotechnoparks and selection schools. In total, 2030 billion rubles will be allocated for the development of agricultural science until 6,2.
Also at the meeting, the results of the work of Russian scientists on the creation of new varieties and hybrids of plants were presented.
So, in recent years, domestic breeders have bred 29 new varieties of potatoes. It is planned that in 2023-2024. the country will be fully provided with elite potato seeds of Russian selection.
Within the framework of the meeting, Sergey Kabyshev and Vugar Bagirov also took part in the opening of a digital phenotyping laboratory, unique for our country, for high-precision study of plant lines created using genetic (genome) editing technologies. To determine the morphological and spectral characteristics of plants in the laboratory, digital cameras and 3D scanners are used, which makes it possible to collect data from a large number of plants with high accuracy and detail. This system opens up new research opportunities for Russian scientists.