Dmitry Medvedev signed a list of instructions resulting from the July 31, 2012 meeting on support of the agriculture industry in connection with abnormal weather conditions.

The text of the document:

1.The Ministry of Agriculture (Nikolai Fyodorov), the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov), the Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov) shall submit to the Government, in accordance with standard procedure, proposals on the amounts and priorities of state support for the producers that suffered from abnormally high temperatures in 2012, including subsidies for the purchase of seed, mineral fertilizer, livestock fodder as well as additional capitalisation of agro-industrial complex institution development.

Deadline: August 30, 2012

2. The Ministry of Agriculture (Nikolai Fyodorov), the Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov), the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov), in cooperation with the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation set the timeframe and volume of state commodity intervention in the grain market as well as identify the regions in which the interventions will be carried out. Submit agreed upon proposals to the Government.

Deadline: August 15, 2012

3. Federal Financial Markets Service (Dmitry Pankin), the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov), the Ministry of Agriculture (Nikolai Fyodorov), together with the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and agricultural insurance associations shall monitor compliance by insurance companies with the agricultural insurance state-supported contracts signed in 2012 to uncover instances of unreasonable refusal to pay insurance to agricultural producers. The results are to be reported to the Government on a monthly basis.

4. The Ministry of Agriculture (Nikolai Fyodorov), the Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov), the Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov), the Federal Financial Markets Service (Dmitry Pankin), in cooperation with the agricultural insurance associations and sectoral unions (associations) shall submit to the Government proposals on improving the system of state-supported agricultural insurance, including the rules of agricultural insurance, requirements of an agricultural insurance contract as well as expert substantiation of the facts regarding the onset of an insured event. If necessary, they shall submit the relevant draft normative legal acts to the Government in accordance with standard procedure.

Deadline: September 3, 2012

5. The Ministry of Natural Resources (Sergei Donskoy), Rosgidromet (Alexander Frolov), the Ministry of Agriculture (Nikolai Fyodorov), in cooperation with the federal executive bodies and executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation concerned shall study the issue of increasing the number of hydrometeorological stations to provide agricultural producers with documents confirming the facts of the impact of hydrometeorological phenomena that present risk for agricultural production and are necessary to officially record an insurance event.

The relevant proposals shall be submitted to the Government.

6. The Ministry of Agriculture (Nikolai Fyodorov), The Ministry of Finance (Anton Siluanov), in cooperation with the lending institutions that finance agricultural enterprises shall study the possibility of extending credit agreements with agricultural producers affected in 2012 by abnormally high temperatures, with the interest rate to be subsidised by the federal Government and the issue of extending lease payment deadlines with the participation of the leasing companies.

The results are to be reported to the Government. If necessary normative legal acts on the issue shall be submitted to the Government in accordance with standard procedure.

7. The Bank of Russia (Sergei Ignatyev) shall consider the possibility of introducing a special procedure for lending institutions to reserve resources for possible losses under loans to agro-industrial enterprises if such loans are extended due to abnormally high temperatures (with such loans to be upgraded in terms of quality).

The results are to be reported to the Government.

8. The Ministry of Economic Development (Andrei Belousov), the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (Igor Artemyev), the Ministry of Agriculture (Nikolai Fyodorov), Rosstat (Alexander Surinov), in cooperation with the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation shall ensure the monitoring of consumer food prices in the market to prevent unreasonable price increases.

The results are to be reported to the Government on a monthly basis

9. The executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation have been instructed to:

- take measures to increase the areas covered by state-supported agricultural crop insurance;

- prepare and conduct winter sowing in 2012 during the optimum agro-technical period;

- tighten oversight of regional consumer prices for food;

- organise regional offices to assist agricultural producers hit by abnormally high temperatures;

- take measures to preserve the cattle population;

- envisage possible assistance to agricultural producers hit by abnormally high temperatures, including extending credit and lease payments with subsidies from the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.