31 july 2012

Dmitry Medvedev inspects barley harvest in the village of Ilovlya while on a working visit to the Volgograd Region

Participants:
On a visit to a farm, the prime minister said that he had signed a resolution to extend fuel price reductions for agricultural producers.

“I have signed a resolution to extend the price reduction for the second half of the year,” Mr Medvedev said.

Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, accompanying the prime minister on the visit, explained that the reduction would now be 20% instead of the previous 30%. “The amount [of fuel liable to price reduction] will satisfy the demand for the second half of the year: the amount for the first six months of the year plus 15-20%,” he added.

From next year farmers will no longer be entitled to the fuel price reduction. Instead they will receive direct subsidies to purchase fuel, Mr Dvorkovich said.

During his visit to the farm, the prime minister also brought up the subject of crop insurance. “The situation is changing. Only 4% of crops were insured in 2010, while now it’s 10%,” he said. According to him, the biggest problem is the position of the insurers, alongside the necessity of having to prove damages using expert analyses.

“On the one hand, insurers have to meet the needs of farmers. On the other hand, everyone involved in agricultural production should insure a significant portion of their property,” Mr Medvedev said. He thinks Russia needs to set up an independent way of reviewing insurance claims in the agriculture sector.