The Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a subprogram for 2017-2025 for the development of potato breeding, funding for which is planned in the amount of 12,2 billion rubles. Izvestia learned about this. Now, mainly imported varieties are grown in Russia.
The project assumes that scientists will conduct at least 150 tests of new species and hybrids in five natural and climatic zones of Russia. The goal of the subprogram is to reduce the level of import dependence, as well as the development of new technologies for selection and production of potato seeds.
Now most of the potatoes in the country are of foreign breeding. In Russia, about 4-5 million tons of table potatoes are produced, up to 1 million tons of seed, the same amount is used for processing. The import of this product is about 500 thousand tons per year. Export does not exceed 100 thousand tons.
Source: http://www.bashinform.ru