Events

 
 
 

Background materials for the April 28, 2011 Government Presidium meeting (Press release)

 
 
 

Press release

The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the Government Presidium meeting on April 28, 2011:  

1. The progress and results of the implementation of the State Programme for the Development of Agriculture in 2010 and State Regulation of Agricultural Produce, Raw Materials and Food Markets in 2008-2012 (National report)

The materials have been submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture. 

The Ministry of Agriculture reports that the 2010 agricultural production index totaled 88.1% of 2009 (for indexed prices), including 74.6% for the crop production sector and 102.6% for the livestock-breeding sector.

The livestock-breeding sector. Production of cattle and poultry for slaughterhouses, in terms of live weight at farms of all categories, totaled 10,487,300 tonnes or 5.2% over 2009. This is also 3.8% more than the State Programme’s target indicator.

The poultry sector continues to post the most impressive production expansion rates. In 2010, production of poultry for slaughterhouses totaled 375,000 tonnes, or 10.8% over 2009.

In 2010, production of pigs for slaughterhouses increased by 6.4% at farms of all categories on 2009, including by 18.3% at agricultural organisations.

Production of bighorn cattle for slaughterhouses in 2010 totaled 1.7 million tonnes in terms of slaughtered weight or 3 million tonnes in live weight. Milk production totaled 31,895,100 tonnes or 97.9% of 2009. At the same time, the State Programme’s milk-production target indicator was only 91.1% of the objective.

Reduced milk production was partially compensated for by the import of dairy products. This made it impossible to meet the national production objective for milk and dairy product resources in terms of milk yield, as stipulated by the State Programme.

Reduced milk production was primarily due to a decline in the cow population. On the whole, the cow population declined by 228,000 head last year nationwide. The greatest, 4.1%, decline was posted among private farmers, whose cow population declined by 191,000 head. The cow population declined by 72,000 head at agricultural enterprises and increased by 35,000 head at farms.

In 2010, the ratio of pedigree cattle in the overall cattle population mix reached 12%, exceeding the 10.1% planned level. However, the pedigree sales increment plunged in 2010 and totaled 3.8%, as compared to the State Programme’s 15% target indicator.

The crop production sector. In 2010, net grain harvests totaled 61 million tonnes, plunging by 37.2% from 2009. That same year, 22.3 million tonnes of beetroot (an 89.4% decline), 5.3 million tonnes of sunflower seeds (an 82.8% decline), 21.1 million tonnes of potatoes (a 67.9% decline) and 12.1 million tonnes of vegetables (a 90.5% decline) were harvested.

The crop production sector’s drop was primarily due to reduced crop capacity. The crop capacity of grain, beetroot and sunflower seeds declined by 19.4%, 25.5% and 16.5%, respectively, on 2009.

Most of the State Programme’s targeted objectives for crop production were not attained in 2010:

  •    the specific share of area sown with elite seeds accounted for 83.3% of planned farmland;
  •    production of flax fibre and long-stalked flax totaled 36.7% and 14.2%, respectively;
  •    rape croplands and gross rape harvests totaled 65.8% and 39.9%, respectively;
  •    areas of long-term growth (forests) and vineyards totaled 47.9% and 19.5%, respectively.

 

The substantial decline in agricultural production is due to abnormal agricultural/meteorological conditions in the summer of 2010 which negatively affected agricultural production.

In 2010, measures to promote development of rural areas were implemented under the Federal Targeted Programme “The Social Development of Rural Lands Until 2012.” Actual federal allocations for implementing the programme were reduced by 67.8% of the State Programme’s volumes.

The programme’s provisions for housing starts and sales to the rural population were reduced 3.4-fold, including 2.7 times for young families and young specialists. The rural drinking water availability indicator dropped from 54.9% to 52.5%.

All revised targeted parameters exceeded planned levels.

Measures to maintain soil fertility were implemented under the Federal Targeted Programme “The Preservation and Restoration of Farmland Fertility and Agricultural Lands as Russia’s National Asset in 2006-2010 and Until 2013.” In 2010, funding for the programme’s measures accounted for 125.6% of maximum allocations. These objectives were attained, except phosphoritisation, the introduction of gypsum into saline soils and the reclamative processing of saline soils (55%-82% of specific levels) which are conducted at the expense of regional budgets.

A total of 5.94 billion roubles were allocated for the introduction of mineral fertiliser. In all, the crops were sprayed with 2.28 million tonnes of mineral fertiliser, as compared to the planned 2.2 million tonnes.

In 2010, renewal coefficients for the main farming machinery categories of agricultural organisations totaled 2.3% for tractors, 3.5% for grain harvesters and 4.1% for fodder harvesters, with the relevant target figures being 8%, 10.4% and 12.4%, respectively.

In all, 16,400 tractors (46.8% of the State Programme’s target figures), 4,900 grain harvesters (45%) and 1,600 fodder harvesters (46.5%) were purchased.

Considering the above-mentioned parameters, the labour productivity growth index at farms of all categories totaled 91%.

The financial standing of agricultural organisations. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that, as of 2010, proceeds from the sale of products, works and services increased 12.4% on 2009 and reached 1.09 trillion roubles. Agricultural organisations received 82.2 billion roubles in earnings before interest and tax, as compared to 83.6 billion roubles in 2009.

In 2010, profitable farms accounted for 71% of agricultural organisations, as compared to 72.1% in 2009.

In 2010, the overall profitability of agricultural production, including subsidies from the budgets of all levels, reached 8.3%, from 9.4% in 2009.

As of late 2010, outstanding/overdue payables totaled 28.2 billion roubles, or 1.3 billion roubles less on late 2009.

In 2010, 1.03 trillion roubles’ worth of borrowed funds, including 589.3 billion roubles’ worth of investment loans, were subsidised under the State Programme.

2. The draft federal law On Amending Article 18 of the Federal Law On the Status of Military Personnel

This draft federal law has been submitted by the Ministry of Defence.

Current legislation stipulates compensation for the harm incurred to the life and health of military personnel in the line of duty through lump-sum insurance payments and pension bonuses. This is a disadvantage compared to private individuals receiving damages under the Federal Law On Mandatory Industrial Accident and Occupational Disease Insurance guaranteeing compensation in the form of lump-sum insurance payments and monthly insurance payments, as well as the payment of additional expenses incurred by the medical, social and professional rehabilitation of insured individuals. They are also at a disadvantage compared to those armed-service members who can hold a party responsible for their health risk, or those covered by special regulation, including armed-service members affected by radiation.

This document has been drafted in order to strengthen the social protection of military personnel, armed-service members discharged from military service, those disabled due to military-related injury, mutilation or disease incurred in the line of duty by granting them the right to fixed monthly cash compensations for bodily harm, depending on the extent of their disability. This is 13,980.12 roubles for disabled persons in the first category, 6,990.07 roubles for disabled persons in the second category and 2,796.01 roubles for disabled persons in the third category.

Moreover, the draft proposes retaining damage compensation beyond court decisions pending receipt by the above-mentioned individuals of the right to compensation as stipulated by the document in excess of court decisions.

Under the proposal, each family member listed in article 18.2 of the Federal Law On the Status of Military Personnel shall receive monthly cash compensation, calculated by dividing the monthly cash compensation stipulated for disabled persons in the relevant category by the number of family members, including the disabled person, in the event of the disabled person’s death due to military-related injury.

Moreover, the document proposes a monthly cash compensation in the event of the accidental or natural death of an armed-service member or private individual called up for military camp assembly, or in the event of death due to military-related injury, mutilation or disease during the fulfillment of military-service duties, to all members of his family, stipulated by article 18.2. Such compensation shall be calculated by dividing the monthly cash compensation stipulated by this clause for first-category disabled persons by the number of family members, including the deceased armed-service member or private individual.

It is proposed that monthly cash compensation be indexed annually to the projected inflation level as stipulated by the federal law on the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year and planning period.

This plan calls for the above monthly cash compensation to start January 1, 2012.

3. The draft federal law On Amending Articles 17 and 22 of the Federal Law On Mandatory Industrial Accident and Occupational Disease Insurance

This draft federal law has been submitted by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development.

This document stipulates amendments to Federal Law No. 125-FZ On Mandatory Industrial Accident and Occupational Disease Insurance. Under the amendments, the insurant shall notify the insurer of workstation certification for working conditions and the conduct of mandatory medical examinations of employees.

Under the document, insurance-premium discounts or surcharges are calculated in line with the results of the insurant’s three-year performance. Only the previous year is currently used for such calculations. Such discounts or surcharges are stipulated with due account of the work safety record, including the results of workstation certification for working conditions and the conducting of mandatory medical examinations of employees.

Under the document, the current provisions of Article 22.1. of Federal Law No. 125-FZ are augmented with a clause that no discounts are stipulated in case of an accidental death as covered by the policy.

Moreover, the document includes the procedure for providing information on the results of workstation certification as regards working conditions and the conduct of mandatory preliminary and regular medical examinations in the regulations for stipulating insurance-premium discounts and surcharges for insurants.

The document’s Article 2 stipulates its entry into force on January 1, 2012, the beginning of the next fiscal year.

4. The draft federal law On the Ratification of the Agreement on Common Regulations for the Provision of Industrial Subsidies

This draft federal law was submitted by the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Agreement on Common Regulations for the Provision of Industrial Subsidies was signed between the Government of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Moscow on December 9, 2010.

This agreement was drafted and signed under a calendar plan for formulating regulatory documents of the Common Economic Space of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation for the 2010-2011 period.

The Agreement stipulates common regulations for subsidising economic sectors so as to minimise disproportionate  trade between states, parties to the Common Economic Space and, consequently, to prevent losses to national economies as a result of such disproportion.

For these purposes, the Agreement lists illegal subsidies with a distorting effect, specific subsidies with limited applications and subsidies which can be applied  without any restrictions.   

5. The draft federal law On the Ratification of the Agreement on Services Trade and Investment in the States That Are a Party to the Common Economic Space

6. The draft federal law On the Ratification of the Agreement on Common Principles and Regulations for the Regulation of Natural Monopolies Activity

7. The draft federal law On the Ratification of the Agreement on Common Principles for the Regulation of Intellectual Property Rights Protection

8. The signing of the Treaty on the Joint Board of Customs Services of the States That Are a Party to the Customs Union

The relevant draft executive order on this issue has been submitted by the Federal Customs Service.

The Treaty on the Joint Board of Customs Services of States, Members of the Customs Union, has been drafted for the purpose of coordinating cooperation between customs services of the member states of the Customs Union.

The Joint Board’s main tasks are participation of the customs services of the member states of the Customs Union in formulating and improving regulatory documents for the Customs Union in the sphere of customs activity, and facilitation of the standard application of the Customs Union’s customs legislation.

The Treaty is subject to ratification per its Article 16 and Article 15.2 of the Federal Law On the International Treaties of the Russian Federation.

Moscow,

April 27, 2011

* Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information 

contain the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for 

discussion by the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Адрес страницы в сети интернет: http://archive.government.ru/eng/docs/15026/