For more than 30 years, Nail Bikkuyun worked “for his uncle” until he decided to organize his own farm. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Chelyabinsk Region supported the 53-year-old farmer and gave him a grant. Now the novice entrepreneur has all the means to develop his business and supply the region with grain and vegetable crops.
A resident of the village of Kuzyasheva in the Argayashsky district opened his farm quite recently – in February of this year. Nail Bikkuyun, 53, has extensive experience as an agronomist. For about 30 years he devoted himself to the cultivation of grain and vegetables, all this time he also maintained his own subsidiary plot. Most recently, he decided to reach a new level and open his own business, so to speak, to reveal his potential.
Nail Bikkuyun registered as an individual entrepreneur and launched a sowing campaign on his own territory, and also leased land from the state to increase the area. On 144 hectares, the farmer today grows 140 hectares of spring crops, three hectares of potatoes and half a hectare of carrots. There was already some equipment on the farm, but something had to be bought in addition. So, for example, Nail took a KamAZ on credit, without which agriculture is completely indispensable.
We work together with my brother. In the summer, my sons promise to come on vacation, they will also help. We hire workers as needed, but for now we manage on our own,” the agrarian notes.
Most recently, Nail Bikkuyun won the Agrostartup 2022 competition. Under this program, beginning farmers who submitted their own projects for the development of their farms received grants of up to one and a half and three million rubles.
- I didn’t really believe in victory, since the competition in this area is rather big. The most difficult thing was to create a business plan for participation, but the My Business center helped with this. The specialists told me for free how and what to do, checked my work, made adjustments, and eventually led me to victory,” notes Nail.
The finished project is designed for five years. During this period, the agrarian plans to build a barn for grain, a vegetable store, buy land and equipment: Omichka seeders, equipment for reclamation and land rolling. Nail Bikkuyan received part of the funds for this from a grant, the rest will have to be invested on his own.
- Very good support, whatever you say. Especially novice farmers and farmers. Especially now, when logistics has risen in price and prices for everything have risen. I would use another measure of support in such a situation – a soft loan at three percent, but I can’t get it yet, since my company has been operating for less than a year. I hope I can take it next year,” adds Nail.
Bikkuyun5311.jpg The farmer says that he grows cereals and vegetables using “zero” technology, using the traditional system of plowing the land. So far, fertilizers are not used in his farm, as they are expensive and require large investments. Nail Bikkuyan says that such a situation will not be long in coming. Fertilizers can give a good harvest, so next year he will definitely start using them.
- What can my farm boast of? Probably an early ripening potato variety. Usually this root crop begins to be harvested somewhere in September, it is by autumn that it ripens. The potatoes that I planted will be ready for harvest by mid-August, that is, 15-20 days earlier, the farmer notes.
After the harvest in the fall, it will be sold. Nail Bikkuyan used to sell vegetables at the market when there were not so many grown crops. Now, as an official entrepreneur, he will take his products to a more serious level – the agrarian assumes that in the fall he will be able to agree on cooperation with large enterprises of the Chelyabinsk region. In dreams – expansion of geography and sales of products to other regions of Russia.
Nail Bikkuyun, farmer:
- Today the state supports us, farmers and agrarians enough. Here you have subsidies for the purchase of seeds, and grants for the purchase of new equipment, and preferential loans, and the same Agrostartup. The country turned to face us.
How to get initial capital for a business?
Such a support measure as “Agrostartup” has been provided in the regions of Russia since 2019. It enables novice entrepreneurs to get good capital for development at the very beginning of their journey. Funds from the Ministry of Agriculture under this program can be spent on connecting premises to communications networks, purchasing or upgrading equipment necessary for the production, storage and processing of agricultural products.
This year, applications from beginning farmers and individual entrepreneurs working in the agro-industrial complex were collected from May 27 to June 2. During this time, the contestants had to submit a business plan for the development of their business. It should be noted that each grant financially covers no more than 90 percent of the project. This means that the farmer himself promises to invest ten percent of its implementation.
Experts of the jury selected no more than 30 participants for the competition. Grants were awarded to 20 farmers from ten municipalities. They received subsidies ranging from 1.6 to 3 million rubles. In total, 50 million rubles were allocated for the development of the agro-industrial complex under the Agrostartup program, of which 48 million are provided from the federal budget and two million from the regional budget.
It is known that 12 winning participants work in the direction of animal husbandry: two will breed dairy cattle and ten – beef. Seven winners will allocate funds for the cultivation of potatoes, one participant will be engaged in horse breeding.
The contestants were assisted with the preparation of a business plan in the regional center “My Business”. The press service of the Gubernia company said that assistance is provided free of charge.
- The business plan is especially difficult for entrepreneurs. The My Business Center helps to draw up documents for obtaining grants. Together with our specialists, a financial model is being developed and the payback of the project is calculated, – says Elena Azarova, head of the Farming Support Center of the My Business Center of the Chelyabinsk Region, – The competition for the Agrostartup grant has recently ended. 19 applications passed through us, 12 of which received a positive response from the Ministry of Agriculture. In addition to Agrostartup, we provide assistance in applying for the Family Farm and Agrotourism grants. For all the time we have been working with agricultural producers, we have prepared more than 60 packages of documents, 29 of which have attracted funding. I would like to note that every year the quality of projects increases, entrepreneurs are really interested in additional funding and are ready to independently invest in the development of their business.
