Krasnodar residents are among the first in Russia to start planting potatoes and are the first to harvest. It would seem that this should provide them with serious competitive advantages in the market.
However, the agrarians of the region do not assign the role of the main crop to potatoes in their farms, do not give large areas for it and do not expect high profits from the sale of the crop. Kuban farmers told our observer about the peculiarities of potato growing in the region.
CONSCIOUS CHOICE
The Kuban is rightly called the granary of Russia, and among the farmers here you rarely meet random people. Typical Krasnodar peasants work on the land all their lives, continuing the work of their fathers and grandfathers. As a rule, whole families work in small farms, and farmers teach their sons how to farm from school.
Head of the KFH Alexander Onoprienko has been growing potatoes for 30 years, and every season about 30-40 hectares are allocated for this crop on the farm. According to the farmer, vegetable growing is the most profitable sub-sector, especially if irrigation systems are used on the fields. And potatoes have additional advantages: they can be harvested at different times (depending on the ripening time), and the harvest does not require immediate sale.
On the farm Yuri Litvyakov, where they specialize in the production of vegetables, potatoes are grown for 12 years on an area of 70 to 100 hectares. Executive Head of KFH Vyacheslav Litvyakov said that the interest of farmers in the Solanaceae representative is primarily due to stable consumer demand. Culture makes it possible to obtain both an early product popular with consumers and a product suitable for long-term storage. Fifty hectares with potatoes are cultivated Vladimir Kulikwho devoted more than 30 years to its cultivation. The head of the KFH is sure that culture has always attracted farmers with the possibility of obtaining a stable profit. And although in recent years the profitability is not as high as before, the farmer is not going to give up the occupation to which so much time and effort has been devoted. After all, this is not just earnings, but a profession, a business to which he devoted his life.
In KFH Vasily Onishchenko started with small areas under potatoes, which over the past 15 years have increased to almost 200 hectares. According to the founder of the economy Vitaly Kabalin, growing vegetables requires a special approach and serious costs. For the competent organization of the business, expensive agricultural machinery and units, consumables and equipment were purchased, warehouses with refrigerators were built. Large funds were directed to the organization of irrigation of fields. Having made such investments, the agrarian can no longer refuse to work in the chosen direction.
THE VERIFICATION OF TIME
Thanks to climatic conditions, Krasnodar farmers have the opportunity to plant potatoes twice a year. But for various reasons, not everyone uses it.
Household Vasily Onishchenko each year collects two full-fledged crops. And if in the spring of this year the crop in the fields occupied 114 hectares, then in mid-October the farmer started harvesting late potatoes from an area of 170 hectares. Alexander Onoprienko re-cultivates only 15-20 hectares of potatoes. Late young potatoes sell well. The high quality of the goods attracts consumers, and competition among sellers is less in autumn. But due to declining profitability, the farmer sees no reason to increase the area under potatoes.
KFH Yuri Litvyakov two harvests are not collected every year. The decision to replant potatoes is made based on crop rotation requirements and market trends. This season, the second harvest from an area of 20 hectares is scheduled for late October-early November.
Vladimir Kulik so far only has one potato crop. It is easier to expand production for those farmers who have a large family and adult children, or have employees. And here the main part of the work on the farm is performed by the farmer himself and his wife. The head of the peasant farm determined for himself a specific niche in the market, placing a bet on the cultivation of early potatoes. The entire harvest in batches of 60-100 tons is sold directly from the field in July, when the selling price is still high.
At the moment, in the Kuban, preference is given to foreign varieties that have proven themselves well in the territory of the region.
On the farm Vyacheslav Litvyakov for several years in a row, the time-tested Colomba and Red Scarlett were grown. This season, for the first time, they tried to plant Arizona potatoes, which also showed decent results.
Vitaly Kabalin said that his company by experience managed to identify a number of varieties that show maximum positive properties in a given period. For example, Colomba and Riviera varieties are selected for the first planting, and Vega, Gala and Red Fantasy are selected for the second.
According to Vladimir Kulik, Colomba has become the most popular variety among agricultural producers in the south of Russia today. Red Scarlett is among the leaders, but due to constant climatic swings or due to the poor quality of seed material that enters the region, this variety is gradually losing its position.
Alexander Onoprienko noted that late varieties of potatoes are not popular in the Kuban. High air temperatures, typical for the region, have a depressing effect on them, preventing them from getting a full-fledged harvest.
In addition, by the beginning of harvesting, prices for these products fall, making production unprofitable. From white varieties, the farmer grows Colomba and Riviera. Red potatoes, which blacken in hot climates, have been abandoned here.
PRICE CONFLICT
According to Alexandra Onoprienko, when harvesting from an area of 50 hectares, only from the first 20, potatoes are sold at a price that guarantees at least some profit. Then the products become cheaper, and the profitability becomes almost zero. The cost of culture is constantly growing, including due to expensive seed material. All the hopes of the peasant are for a fair price for their products, but in 2022 they were not destined to come true. The main part of the farm's crop went for 13 rubles per kilogram, and in the markets of Moscow it was sold 4-5 times more expensive. It turns out that all profits remain in the pockets of merchants, and manufacturers are working on the brink of survival.
Added problems and sharply soared prices for fertilizers and fuels and lubricants. Vladimir Kulik recalled that a year ago, the wholesale price for fuel and lubricants for agricultural producers was 15-20 percent lower than at gas stations. But today it is more profitable for a farmer to drive a tractor to a regular gas station and fill the fuel tank there, and not to make bulk purchases of fuel.
Return on investment, according to observations Vyacheslav Litvyakov, cannot be accurately predicted. It happened that the potato farm worked to zero, and in other years the profitability reached 20-30 and even 100 percent. This season, when literally everything has risen in price, except for potatoes, many Kuban farmers have acted to the limit. The Litvyakov household managed to avoid serious difficulties thanks to a financial airbag. But a few more similar years, and the capsules of even the most thrifty farmers will be empty.
In agriculture, sure Vitaly Kabalin, not everything depends on the peasant. His work and efforts guarantee only 50 percent of success, the rest is decided by external circumstances. For example, the weather failed, the heat began too early, and the potato tubers did not form or grow to the desired size. But the most offensive thing is when an excellent harvest has to be given away for a penny, as was the case in 2021. Although potatoes of the same year, but of a later planting, allowed the farm to make good money.
Krasnodar drew attention to an alarming trend observed for the third year in a row. In the middle of autumn, when potatoes are harvested in the middle lane, north and east, right up to Siberia, the price of it rises.
In other regions, farmers incur much lower costs than in the south. They don't have a hard need for irrigation systems, their crops don't suffer from heat, they can plant varieties with longer growing seasons to get maximum yields, and they have more storage options. It turns out that farmers who supply early potatoes to the market find themselves in unequal conditions with their colleagues from more northern latitudes.
PATIENCE AND WORK…
Today, Kuban potatoes can be found in markets and chain stores throughout the country: from the central and western regions to the north, the Urals and Siberia. And due to the second harvest, a significant share of the market in the south of Russia is provided. Krasnodar farmers sell potatoes mainly through intermediaries, although local retailers could take products from producers for sale. But for small farms, the requirements of networks are often unfeasible.
As noted by Vitaly Kabalin, it is proposed to supply shops with washed and packaged potatoes, but to complete this task, the farmer needs to purchase special equipment, attract additional human resources, that is, incur large costs. Will these investments pay off? Farmers admit that every year potato growing in the Kuban is becoming less and less profitable. But, despite all the difficulties, farmers are optimistic about the future and make plans for the new season. For example, Alexander Onoprienko is going to plant varieties on an area of 30 hectares, from which he habitually expects high yields and excellent quality. Seed material has already been ordered in the Samara region and almost fully paid. Yes, costs are rising again, and about 170 rubles will be spent on seeds alone per hectare. But there is hope that 2023 will be successful, and the market will still give a good price for Krasnodar potatoes.
Irina Berg