11 october 2008

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the 10th Russian agro-industrial exhibition “Golden Autumn” at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre

Participants:
Issues discussed included a further improvement in the quantity and quality of crop production in Russia, state assistance with the introduction of new technologies, and more efficient financing of agriculture.

Mr Putin toured a number of exhibition pavilions and talked with heads of agricultural enterprises and representatives of regional authorities, ministries and departments of the Russian Federation, who were taking part in it. Issues discussed included a further improvement in the quantity and quality of crop production in Russia, state assistance with the introduction of new technologies, and more efficient financing of agriculture. Alexei Gordeyev reported to Mr Putin that the year saw a considerable rise in the agricultural output in such sectors as beef (8%) and poultry meat (16.5%). Over 1 million hectares of land have been put to use. The country has gathered over 100 million tons of grain, which is a record harvest in 15 years. The crop will satisfy Russia's basic demand for food and fodder grain. 

Viktor Gergert, Deputy Governor of the Novosibirsk Region, described the dynamic development of agriculture in his region. Last year, gross output of farm produce increased by 30%. In 2008, a total of 3.2 million tons of grain (1.93 tons per hectare) was gathered, almost all of it of bread-making quality. Milk production in the region is expected to rise this year by 10%, and meat by 11%, while milk yields will reach an average of 3,300 litres per cow. The region's leadership has set the goal of raising wages in the agricultural sector by 60%.

Sergei Novikov, head of Agropromkomplektatsiya, told Mr Putin that his company, established in the Tver Region 20 years ago by resettlers from Kazakhstan, is now a highly integrated holding with a closed production chain for the output of meat, milk and grains (yields are 5.2 tons per hectare).

The directors of Kirovsky Zavod and Agromashholding informed Mr Putin that their companies had started the production of new agricultural equipment mainly from Russian-made components.

At the end of his tour, Mr Putin issued instructions that soft loans be considered for agricultural machine building, as well as fuel compensations and the propping of loan rates for agricultural enterprises.