On March 12, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia on the issues of providing the population of the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District with vegetables and potatoes and measures to increase crop production.
The meeting was held by videoconference chaired by the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation D.Kh. Khatuova.
Opening the videoconference, Dzhambulat Khizirovich said that at today's meeting specific concepts for the development of vegetable growing and potato growing in the regions are being considered, because the challenges and risks of modern realities require substantive and quick solutions.
At the meeting, reports were presented by heads of agro-industrial complex bodies of the constituent entities of the okrug, in which they outlined the concepts of development of these crop production sectors in the Far Eastern Federal District. So, the Minister of Agriculture of the Amur Region O.A. Turkin reported on the potential for the development of vegetable growing and potato growing by the example of the region, noting that the subject does not rely on increasing the cultivated areas, which currently amount to, for example, 2,6 thousand hectares of potatoes, but on the potential of using modern technologies: fertilizers, new technology, year-round storages, etc. In his opinion, this will make it possible to achieve an increase in potato production by 2025% by 70, which will ensure the complete closure of the need for vegetables. There are opportunities for this, supported by state support. Oleg Aleksandrovich’s report voiced the problems of building modern vegetable stores and the availability of seeds, which, as previously announced, represent non-varietal material for potatoes up to 70%. The question was raised about increasing the number of varieties zoned in the region.
His vision for the development of potato growing in the Far East was stated by the head of the apparatus of the Potato Union of Russia, T.D. Gubina. Tatyana Dmitrievna noted that, in her opinion, the area for potatoes and vegetables in the region should be increased, moreover, the allocation of plots should be considered carefully and the fields located near the Amur River, subject to frequent spills, should not be used.
The reports of representatives of scientific institutions involved in new varieties of vegetable crops and potatoes were heard and discussed, issues of regionalization of varieties for the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District and others were raised.
According to the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation D.Kh. Khatuova, the main problem of our breeders is the incompleteness of the chain of bringing new varieties to direct consumers - farmers of the regions, including the Far Eastern Federal District, which eliminates the scientific support of the variety. The variety should not only be bred, but also implemented, and to solve this problem, as noted by Dzhambulat Khizirovich, there is already a ready-made dealer network, namely the Consulting Centers of the Federal State Institution Rosselkhoztsentr, which are available in almost all regions.