The ceremonial opening of the North Caucasian Breeding and Seed Center for the production of original potatoes took place in North Ossetia. As the Plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District Yuri Chaika noted in his welcoming speech, the event is an important stage in the development of agriculture not only in the region, but also in the country as a whole.
"By 2025, the production volumes of elite seed potatoes should reach 40 thousand tons per year, which will allow planting 14 thousand hectares of food vegetable crops, producing high-quality original seeds of domestic selection, increasing the competitiveness of the industry, attracting additional investments in the agro-industrial complex of the region. In addition, it will give a new impetus to the implementation of state programs aimed at import substitution, ensuring food security and increasing export potential. The activity of the center, on the site of which dozens of jobs will be created, will certainly create a serious social effect," commented the Plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District.
Yuri Chaika recalled that President Vladimir Putin has set the task of strengthening scientific and technical support for agriculture and reducing technological risks in the food sector.
"To address these issues, the federal government is implementing a set of measures aimed at creating and implementing competitive domestic technologies based on scientific achievements by 2031. I would like to express special words of gratitude to the Minister of Agriculture of Russia Dmitry Patrushev for the special attention that the department provides to the regions of the North Caucasus. I am sure that today's event will become the foundation of new victories for Russian farmers," added the envoy.
Ivan Lebedev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, said that agriculture in the country is developing dynamically and shows record figures in many industry areas.
"The center that we are opening today is the largest in Europe. We see the result of concrete work from the idea of the federal scientific and technical program for the development of agriculture until 2030, which is designed to solve the most difficult problems in the country. Today we have enterprises that are independent of foreign states, which in a difficult situation did not behave like partners. This means that we will be able to provide the necessary number of indicators of the food security doctrine absolutely across the entire range of production. Our country will always maintain a leading position in the volume of agricultural production," he believes.
The head of North Ossetia Sergey Menyailo noted that the new complex will provide 20% of Russia's demand for potato seeds.
"This is the implementation of the instructions of the head of state regarding import substitution of the most important agricultural products and food security. I would like to express my gratitude to the Ministry of Agriculture of the country and the office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District for their full support, as well as to the initiator of this project Vyacheslav Bitarov," the head of the republic said.
It is worth noting that the project was implemented with the support of «VTB» Bank.
"Promoting the sustainable development of agricultural enterprises is one of the key tasks for «VTB». We actively finance companies in the agro-industrial sector in the North Caucasus. The share of this industry in our loan portfolio by the end of last year exceeded 22.5%, amounting to almost 20 billion rubles. «FAT-AGRO» is the largest agricultural enterprise in North Ossetia and a long—time partner of «VTB». The Bank has been supporting the client's initiatives for ten years. The implementation of the project for the construction of a breeding and seed center will help solve the issue of providing Russian farmers with high–quality potato seeds, and will also make a significant contribution to strengthening the country's food security. It is important for us to be a participant in such a large—scale investment program," commented Alexander Dyrenko, Managing Director of «VTB» in the North Caucasus Federal District.
Vyacheslav Bitarov, founder of the «Bavaria» Group of Companies, in turn, thanked the guests and participants of the event. "On behalf of the collective of the group of companies, thank you for participating in the solemn event dedicated to the opening of the breeding and seed center for the production of original potato seeds. It is a great honor for us. At the forum "North Caucasus–2022: measures to increase the stability of the economy in the face of sanctions", Yuri Yakovlevich (Chaika – ed.) expressed his wish to develop a seed production project based on the «FAT-AGRO» enterprise. Thanks to the comprehensive scientific and technical program of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the active assistance of the leadership of the republic in the person of Sergey Ivanovich (Menyailo - approx.ed.), the Ministry of Agriculture of North Ossetia, as well as the branch "North Caucasian" of «VTB» Bank in less than a year, a modern laboratory and a greenhouse complex have been built, professional staff has been trained. All this makes it possible to triple the production of mini-tubers and, accordingly, the original seed material. We have developed a program for the development of seed production until 2030. For its implementation, breeding work is being actively carried out jointly with the Federal Potato Research Center named after A.G. Lorch. Potato varieties "Sadon", "Sprinter" and "Alanya" have already successfully proven themselves. We are grateful to the management and staff of the Institute for their fruitful joint work. Today's event is attended by our first partners in the implementation of the program from the Vologda, Kostroma and Yaroslavl regions. The project went from regional to All-Russian. I am sure that the implementation and development of the program will significantly reduce dependence on foreign seed companies," he stressed.
It should be added that a round table "Development of potato breeding and seed production in the Russian Federation: state support programs and scientific support of business projects" will be held as part of the solemn event.
