The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation has developed a subprogram for vegetable breeding and seed production, aimed at creating domestic varieties, hybrids and technologies. It is planned to allocate more than 3 billion rubles for its implementation within 6 years.
This will ensure import substitution and not depend on sanctions in the future. The Volgograd region is also ready to take serious steps in the development of seed production.
Stimulus for development
The subprogram of the Ministry of Agriculture is aimed at creating and introducing competitive domestic varieties and hybrids of vegetable crops, as well as technologies based on the latest scientific achievements, the explanatory note to the document says. In connection with the development of this area, it is planned to create a new research and production center in the field of seed production, whose specialists will be engaged in fundamental and applied research to develop new species, varieties and hybrids of crops.
In the shortest possible time, the scientific community will present a program of its work and involve representatives of the domestic agro-industrial complex in this process. Such cooperation will become the basis for the development of new lines of crops with high yields.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation proposed to subsidize up to 50% of capital expenditures for the creation of selection and seed centers. This measure should take effect from 2023. For its implementation, it will be necessary to allocate an additional 8.3 billion rubles. In addition to breeding and seed-growing centers, these funds are planned to be used to compensate for the costs of construction and modernization of dairy cattle breeding facilities, vegetable stores, etc.
Serious base
Domestic farmers approve of such decisions and admit that it is high time to restore breeding centers that were closed in post-perestroika times so as not to depend on imported supplies and technologies.
The Volgograd region is also ready to join this work. Our region can become an interregional center for the development of selection and seed production. This, we recall, was discussed during the offsite meeting of the council for the development of the agro-industrial complex of the region in April this year, which was held by Governor Andrei Bocharov.
The meeting took place at the site of a seedling complex in the Sredneakhtubinsky district – with the involvement of state support, a large-scale investment project is being implemented here. The farm uses the most highly productive hybrid seeds, including foreign ones, so the issues of import substitution in this industry are extremely important to ensure the sustainable work of vegetable growers. The region is ready to allocate 700 million rubles for the development of its own seed center.
These funds are intended for the implementation of investment projects, and part of the money will be directed to support seed production. It is clear that the task of developing breeding and seed production cannot be solved in one day – it will be divided into stages, in accordance with which the participants in this work and sources of funding will be determined, including the region intends to enter federal programs to implement the plans.
There is already a serious base for this – the domestic seed fund, a network of research centers and experimental farms, as well as a modern seedling complex in the Sredneakhtubinsky district.
Innovations in the agro-industrial complex
The Volgograd Agricultural University has already presented its proposals for the development of seed production, on the site of which the Research Institute for Advanced Research and Innovation in the Agro-Industrial Complex was opened last year.
Scientific centers for genetics and selection of vegetable crops have been established here, a collection of genetic donors of tomato varieties has been formed and hybrid varieties of onions and cabbages are being tested, a technological line for processing vegetables and isolating seeds has been created.
This year, the plans are to establish a nursery to expand this work and create an engineering center for breeding and seed production of vegetable crops, which will make it possible to develop a collection of Volgograd varieties, work out the technology of their cultivation and train qualified specialists. The next step is the organization of production and sale of seeds. For this, they plan to attract federal grants.
In the face of new challenges, along with the tasks of ensuring food security, the issues of import substitution come to the fore. Since 2014, our region has been actively working in this direction: we managed to expand the possibilities of storage and processing, increase the irrigated wedge, and put unused lands into circulation.
In the Volgograd Region, the volume of agricultural production more than doubled, from 100.7 billion rubles in 2014 to 215.6 billion rubles in 2021. Grain production in the region has increased and is holding the bar at at least 4.3 million tons, vegetables – at least 1 million tons, while the volume of tomatoes and cucumbers grown in greenhouses has almost doubled. Also, over the years, the irrigation area has been doubled (from 34.3 to 74.6 thousand tons) for the development of crop production and animal husbandry.
