"Over the many years of its fruitful activity, your organisation has won authority and respect. A comprehensive, competent and well-thought-out approach has allowed the Union to make a noticeable contribution to the development of agricultural cooperation and agro-industrial integration, to the improvement of social conditions in rural areas, including revival of the countryside, to the modernisation of the agro-industrial sector and an increase in its competitiveness.

"I hope all these issues will become a subject of constructive and detailed discussions at the congress. The Union's opinion and proposals are particularly important in conditions of the global financial and economic crisis.

"I am convinced that specific recommendations, to be worked out today, will be considered during the formulation of the state agrarian policy and its implementation."

Minister of Agriculture Yelena Skrynnik read out Viktor Zubkov's message.