It was stated at the recently-finished Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, which is one of the largest negotiating platforms in Russia to discuss socio-economic and socio-political issues, that in Russia alone, import substitution will affect 18 industries. The federal government has already prepared 1665 projects that will allow us to to be independent of imports in most directions.
Each of these sectors is important and irreplaceable, but the production of food and other daily demands for the general population is of particular importance. Because social stability in the country largely depends on this. Because this is our daily bread. And not only that.
It was already announced that the Russian agro-industrial complex, in addition to these objectives, will receive 650 billion rubles from the federal budget. Thus, the total state support of agribusiness up to 2020 will be 2.13 trillion rubles. The sum, speaking frankly, is fantastic. But there is simply no other way. And many programs in this area have already been successfully implemented.
How do things stand with it in the North Caucasus? We will consider the situation separately region by region, in the North Caucasian Federal District.
Dagestan
The mere fact that Dagestan currently holds the top spot in terms of the dynamics of economic development among the constituent subjects of the country, as was discussed at the recent board meeting of the Ministry of Economy of Russia, is an indicative fact. The share of agricultural production of the republic in total agricultural output of the Russian Federation amounted to 2%, and with this indicator the republic occupies 15th place among all regions of the country. In Dagestan, there are more than 20% of Russia's sheep and it produces about 8% of all Russian vegetables. In number of cattle, the republic occupies third place, in grape production - 2nd place, perennial plants - 3rd place.
Last year, it was planned to sow spring crops on 164.6 thousand ha, but in fact more than 183 thousand hectares were planted, or nearly 18 thousand more. Harvests of rice, corn, sunflower, vegetables, potatoes, alfalfa and other crops (even with the dry weather in early summer 2014) were very good. The agricultural machinery is kept updated, the practice of subsidizing farmers for the cost of acquisition of elite seeds of a number of crops is in use, network of land reclamation is optimized, etc.
In the conditions of the sharp reduction in imports of vegetables, the demand for these products is growing. And Dagestani growers, as evidenced by the figures, are closely monitoring the situation. According to the structure of spring sowing in 2015, it is planned to plant 41.12 thousand hectares of vegetables, or five thousand hectares more than the previous year. Planting of potatoes will grow to 21.5 thousand hectares.
Currently Dagestan can supply Russian regions with more than 500 thousand tons of vegetables, about 80 thousand of tons of fruit, and more than 30 thousand tons of table grapes each season. A cluster approach to the development of wine will allow the country to multiply supplies to the Russian market of wine and cognac by several times.
This year in Dagestan it is also planned to lay around 1,600 hectares of new gardens, greenhouses are planned to be built on an area of 9 hectares (for reference: during the past year, planting of new orchards was carried out on an area of 1 thousand 168 hectares, last year Dagestani growers collected about 121 thousand tons of fruit).
The Republic of Dagestan annually produces about 30 thousand tons of meat of small cattle (carcass weight) and almost entirely covers the domestic needs of the local population in this food product. In addition, the country supplies Russian regions with more than 5 thousand tons of mutton. Specific measures are applied to develop such agriculture as fish farming in the republic.
Ingushetia
Experts predict that in 2015, the republic's own revenues to the budget will increase by 56%, to around 4 billion rubles. In general, according to many indicators in the economy and social sphere of the republic, it is a positive trend. In Ingushetia, there are new companies producing products similar to imports, but at lower prices, development of agriculture and food processing receives additional development.
Thus, the new agro-industrial complex Atlas in the Sunzha district recently started production of pickled vegetables. Currenty, the company packs about 30 thousand cans of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, grown in its own fields. A power line allows it to produce at least 15 tons of cans per shift.
Now employees of the company are preparing to launch a production line of fruit drinks and purees. Proper feed will be prepared on a second line. Especially for this, in an area of 50 hectares adjacent to the company, fruit plantations are being planted. The farm's production capacity will be 15 million cans per year.
In the current year acreage will increase: vegetables will double, potatoes - by a third. All enterprises of all forms of ownership in 2014 produced 57,000 tones of potatoes. By 2020, according to the plans of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Republic will completely refuse imported potatoes and be able to supply them to other regions.
Commissioning of a meat and dairy complex is planned in the village of Sagopshi. Along with the opening of the complex, its dairu products and meat will go to local markets.
In addition, the regional government approved the plans for the development of import substitution. In total in Ingushetia, three prospective projects of development in the industrial sector will be implemented, as well as five projects related to agriculture.
Kabardino-Balkaria
In Kabardino-Balkaria in the past year about 940 thousand tons of grain and legumes were harvested, which exceeds the planned volumes by almost 20%. According to the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the KBR, the gross yield of potatoes in 2014 amounted to over 225,000 tons of vegetables, 347.5 thousand tons, which is 101.7 percent, respectively, and 101.3 percent compared to the level the previous year. In fruit production about 119 thousand tons was collected - an 11% bigger yield than in the past period.
According to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the KBR, Machraila Shetova, it is planned to produce sowing of spring crops on an area of about 242 thousand ha, which is 113% more compared to 2014. Fertilizing winter crops will be carried out on an area of 49 thousand hectares, and some farmers have already started feeding.
The program of import substitution is on the list of priority projects for implementation in the North Caucasus Federal District. It includes 18 investment projects in the agro-industrial complex of the Kabardino-Balkaria. The total cost of the project exceeds 50 billion rubles.
The LLC Prohladnoye, which is building a modern complex for growing, storage, processing, packaging and sale of fresh vegetables and potatoes with a capacity of 75 thousand tons per year, will receive state support. The vegetable-growing complex, which is an accomplished production cycle, will be launched in the first half of this year.
In the upcoming years Kabardino-Balkaria is going to significantly increase the production of poultry products and animal feed. Agrogroup Baksan Broiler, through the implementation of investment projects on construction of a poultry complex and reconstruction of the existing production, plans by the end of 2015 to increase the production of breeding eggs up to 36 mln units, poultry meat - up to 50 thousand tons by 2018. This year the agrogroup is starting a project of building a feed mill with a capacity of 160 thousand tons per year. The designed capacity is planned to be implemented for 2017.
Another poultry farm, the limited liability company Veles-Agro, this year plans to complete the implementation of two investment projects: "Construction of a shop and purchase of equipment for deep processing of 3 tons of poultry meat" and "Construction of a fodder complex for the production of 50 thousand tons of pelleted feed power per year."
The limited liability company Yug-Agro last year started to build a poultry complex for the production of 18.7 thousand tons of broiler meat and 12 thousand tons of turkey meat per year, it is expected to be completed in 2019.
Among the enterprises of the canning industry, the LLC Zelenaya Companiya has received approval for an investment project to build a plant for processing green peas, sweetcorn and beans with a capacity of 120 million cans per year. In 2014, the assembly line produced its first products, it produced 25 million standard cans of fruit. In 2015, the company plans to increase the production of canned 30 million standard cans. Full capacity is planned to be implemented in 2016.
"In 2015, the gross yield of fruits and berries in the CBR will reach 152,300 tons." Such a forecast was expressed by Muaed Dadov, the Minister of Agriculture of the KBR. In addition, Kabardino-Balkaria is ready to increase the production of hybrid seed corn to 30 thousand tons per year, thereby taking up to 30% of the Russian market, considers the director of the Kabardino-Balkar Institute of Agriculture, Arsene Maremukov. As part of the tasks of agricultural import substitution, Kabardino-Balkaria could become a major supplier of quality seeds of maize hybrids not only to the Russian market, but also to neighboring countries.
Among non-food areas of business can be distinguished a modern textile factory in the town of Baksan, which has no competitors in Russia. The enterprise project costs 1.3 billion rubles on the list of investment projects from the KBR within the state program for import substitution.
Universal machines of the latest generation with automatic feeds and lycra lastana allow the production of high-quality fabrics of different widths, creating paintings with different types of woven thread. Each machine produces 200 kg of fabric per shift. Production is delivered to regions of Russia and countries of the Customs Union. Already this year, the company plans to reach full capacity with which annual production will be 963 thousand tons of products worth more than one billion rubles of the revenue.
Karachay-Cherkessia
Development of agriculture in the country is known by a significant increase in agricultural production. Enterprises of Karachay-Cherkessia plan to sow spring crops on an area of 92 thousand hectares within the spring sowing campaign. In particular, it is planned to increase the volume of sugar beet planting by 25% - up to 9 thousand hectares and potatoes by 20% - up to 7.2 thousand hectares. Multiple farms in the region will sow 14 thousand hectares of grains and pulse crops in 2015, 38 thousand hectares of corn for seed, 4 thousand hectares of corn for food, 12.5 thousand hectares of sunflower, 6.4 thousand hectares of annual grass crops and other crops.
The agricultural enterprise "South" is the largest enterprise in the country for the production of vegetables on protected land, today it produces about 10% of all cultivated production in Russia. Currently, it has been decided to modernize 24 hectares of greenhouses at the enterprise. Proposals have been received from investors in Holland, France and Israel.
In the Nogai district of Karachay-Cherkessia this autumn the first phase of the large-scale investment project "Making an intensive type of orchard" will begin on a territory of 263 hectares. Total production volume in the first phase of the project will reach 50 tons of apples per hectare annually, 30 tons per hectare of sweet cherries and 35 tons per hectare of plums.
Of the non-food production of import-substituting products in Karachay-Cherkessia, one should emphasize the processing factory of wool and yarn production that uses innovative technologies, the "Quest-A” company. The cost of this project is estimated at more than 1 billion rubles. At the moment the project is completing the second stage, that presupposes production of high-quality yarn capable of supplanting foreign production on the Russian market. In the near future, the investor plans to implement the third stage - from wool processing to manufacturing knitwear.
Among the promising projects in the country are also projects for the production of shoes and cement with the participation of foreign investors. On the territory of the republic the car company 'Derveis' functions, which today is the top private car company in Russia. It produces up to 75 thousand cars per year, providing jobs for about 2 thousand residents.
North Ossetia
Support for agricultural enterprises and industry related to the import substitution program in the republic has received increasing attention. For example, this concerns the implementation of the project on seed growing, in particular for potatoes and corn. As the head of the republic Teimuraz Mamsurov claimed at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, "on potatoes we worked with Swiss research institutions, and in fact the scientific and production parts are already complete. Now we have to increase the scale, and we will be giving up to 20% of the potato seed of Russia to other regions. They are unique."
One of the interesting projects in the field of import substitution worth noticing is a cheese factory in North Ossetia - thanks to the Italian entrepreneur Gianni Dontselli. It was he who established here the production of Italian cheeses. As reported by the Department of Domestic Policy of the government of the republic, every day ItalOs Ltd. produces 500-600 litres of milk. The production is delivered to local markets as well as to other Russian cities.
The assortment of the enterprise represents about 10 types of cheese, including such exotic names as mozzarella, burrata, ricotta, caciocavallo, scamorza. There are plans to start producing mascarpone, creamette and Philadelphia. After six months the cheese factory has reached the level of self-sufficiency, which is certainly a good indicator. In addition, under existing sanctions the demand for products continues to grow. Compared with local cheese, the Ossetian products manufactured by Italian technology is more expensive, but is still up to 25-30% cheaper than imported counterparts.
Stavropol
Agricultural production in Stavropol is considered to be not only the leading constituent of the North Caucasus, but also one of the flagships of the country on several fronts. That is why the information about it deserves special research. We will mention only the main trends and specific examples.
Production of cereals and vegetables, fruits and forage, the livestock sector and poultry farming, grape-growing and fish breeding - all these areas are intensively developing in Stavropol Territory, as well as in many farms. Processing of agricultural raw materials into bakery, pasta, dairy, meat and confectionery products is highly developed. Wine-making is also well developed.
Farmers of Stavropol plan to sow spring crops on 897.5 thousand hectares during the spring field work in 2015, which is 7.2% (60 thousand hectares) more than in 2014, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the region reports. In particular, 375.6 thousand hectares will be allocated to grain. For technical and oilseeds - 382.3 thousand hectares, for potato and melon - 57.5 thousand hectares, for feed crop - 82.1 thousand hectares.
The region is among the top ten leaders of the country for the production of milk and dairy products. In total in Stavropol 54 agricultural organizations in 17 districts of the region are engaged in breeding dairy cattle breeds. For further growth in milk production, modern innovative breeding techniques, technology of forage conservation and milk production will be applied.
For example, the Stavropol Dairy Factory is actively involved in the implementation of the program of import substitution, where there is already organized the production of low-lactose and lactose-free milk, of milk with high contents of protein and calcium, and a number of specialized milk and dairy products, a wide range of cheeses. There are also facilities for the production of bread, bakery and confectionery products, mayonnaise, ketchup and vegetable oil, and recently production of juice and ice cream has been started. In 2015, the factory continued to implement the investment project for construction of a mega-factory in the Trunov region for 4 thousand dairy cows.
More than 250 sorts of grain, fodder, medicinal, aromatic, fruit and vegetable crops are created by the Stavropol Research Institute of Agriculture. In the State Register of breeding achievements 103 sorts are permitted for utilization, those that are on state trials - 44 sorts, 122 patents have been received, including 98 for the sorts. In the Stavropol Territory, 25% of winter wheat and winter barley, also 65% of spring barley are sown with sorts selected from Stavropol Research Institute of Agriculture.
The industrial complex JSC "Biocom" successfully functions in the region. It is one of the branches of the "Pharm-Center" companies, which produces solid dosage drugs for the complete production cycle. The production of the enterprise (37 titles) with proven efficacy and a known safety profile is not inferior in quality to its Western counterparts.
Existing production capacity may annually provide the output of 540 million pills (in 2 shifts), 200 million capsules and 24 million packets (in 3 shifts). Sales of JSC "Biocom" in 2014 reached 9.4 million packets for 861 million rubles. A number of companies are also successfully engaged in the development and production of building materials, light industry products, etc.
One may rightly say that Stavropol Territory produces almost everything that is needed for a satisfied and comfortable life. Such exotic types of products as ostrich meat and eggs are produced at one of the farms of the region.
Chechnya
In recent years in Chechnya significant work has been performed in the field of development of agricultural business and agro-processing. The republic's meat and dairy plants, canneries and other enterprises not only to meet the demand on the domestic market, but also sell their products in other Russian cities.
For the harvest of 2015 in the republic 93.5 thousand hectares of winter grain crops seeds of its own production have been planted. Work is underway to prepare the soil for planting spring crops on an area of 101.1 thousand hectares.
In total in September 2014 in Chechnya there are 3856 farms and other small business enterprises, which cover an area of agricultural land of 62,756 hectares, including 59,200 hectares of arable land. Farms own 34 thousand cattle, including 11 thousand cows, and 67 thousand sheep.
Last year, a significant number of households added into the rotation such valuable crops as sunflower, corn and canola. Many individual farms began to grow winter crops that were previously rarely grown in the country. The number of areas under perennial grasses increases. Greenhouses are developing successfully, including those that use advanced foreign technologies.
Given the above facts and figures, one can be confident today in saying that the process of transition to import substitution in the North Caucasus Federal District is acquiring very intense dynamics. At the last meeting of the working group for the development of industrial production in the district of the Governmental Commission on the Socio-Economic Development of North Caucasus Federal District, it was noted that the North Caucasus region should become an important part of the import substitution market by 2020. According to the Ministry of the North Caucasus, the projects that are being implemented already will create up to 10 thousand additional jobs in the industrial production sector and about 2.5 thousand jobs in the agricultural sector, as well as new jobs in related industries and small businesses.
Of course, there are many problems related to such issues, like lack of credit and advanced technologies, the shortage of certain types of raw materials, etc. But as they say, slow and steady wins the race. There is simply no other way for today.
It was cleverly pointed out on the pages of one of the newspapers in Dagestan by one of the farmers of the republic, "if there were no sanctions against Russia that reduced food imports from the EU, and the response of our republic, they should have been invented: consumers learn to appreciate the food, farmers learn to produce it."
Thus, the North Caucasus is gradually beginning to regain its reputation as the country's breadbasket - although with some difficulty, yet with obvious reasons for cautious optimism.
vestnikkavkaza.net