We don't need Europe to keep our bellies full

11.08.2014 — Analysis

They're divvying up their supplies in the Southern Urals

There's always a silver lining - the sanctions imposed by the US and Europe have hastened the adoption of a long-overdue solution to the problem of Russia's dependence on imports. After those unfriendly countries refused to work cooperatively in high-tech industries, Russian officials halted the delivery of food products from abroad. But domestic manufacturers have happily volunteered to step into the breach. As this correspondent for RusBusinessNews has discovered, the Chelyabinsk region can bountifully provision the dinner tables in regions both near and far.

The Southern Urals is prepared to ensure Russia's food security. Agriculture is at the core of the region's 2020 Development Strategy. In view of the ban on foods from the US and the EU, local producers are redoubling their efforts.

Agribusiness experts agree that the industry long ago outgrew its supporting role and is now a real powerhouse behind the economy of the Chelyabinsk region. This Southern Urals "locomotive" is also capable of towing other Russian regions along behind it.

"I think President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin's decision was very sound – it's a reasonable response to foreign sanctions and the attempts to establish an economic blockade against our country," stated the interim governor of the Chelyabinsk region, Boris Dubrovsky. "The situation demands a rapid response from us. I'm confident that we're ready to provide food not only to the residents of the Chelyabinsk region, but also far beyond its borders. Now our agricultural producers have a real chance to fill a vacant niche. And consumers don't have to make sacrifices, either in terms of the quantity, quality, or price of food. I'm confident that Russia should be feeding itself as well as the entire world – as it always has - not the other way around."

His words are backed up by the numbers. The Chelyabinsk region has long produced many foods in excess of its own needs and is the second-largest supplier of meat, chicken, and eggs in the country. In addition to these foodstuffs, 1.5 times more of which are being produced in the Southern Urals, the region is amply supplied with potatoes – it is prepared to freely distribute a large part of its harvest throughout Russia, sufficing even for "third party" sales of vegetables.

Even in the winter the residents of the Southern Urals will be fortified with vitamins. Last year the region began a program to expand greenhouse cultivation, and that has paid off. The region only produced 5% of the hothouse vegetables it consumed in 2012, but in 2013 that figure rose to 16%. In 2014, modern greenhouse facilities expanded by 8.8 hectares - to 36.7 hectares, yielding a future harvest of 19.5 thousand tons of vegetables. Next year this figure will increase to 22.4 thousand tons. This will meet half the demand for hothouse vegetables. Modern technology will ensure high yield and product quality.  

It is important that the region's agribusinesses act unhesitatingly and in unison. Livestock breeding is actively developing and both feeds as well as feeds upon crop cultivation, which now has a guaranteed sales market, although a few years ago this sector was viewed as less than promising.

However, the Southern Urals is in no hurry to rest on its laurels - it is aware of its weaknesses and is working on them. Sergei Sushkov, the minister of agriculture, notes that energy is currently being focused on the development of the dairy industry, which at present is able to meet less than half of public demand. Because of regional support, dairy farms are adopting the latest technology –  flow-line guild housing for cows, modern milking systems, and the development of breeding stock, which will certainly have an effect on milk-production figures. Chelyabinsky Gormolkombinat, the Sitno agricultural holding company, and Knyazhy Sokolnik are all prepared to invest in the development of this area. Nor are the state farms merely sitting on the sidelines. There are plans to introduce a large number of livestock-breeding complexes able to accommodate 600-1,800 animals.

Mutually beneficial relationships are being built up between the agricultural and the processing industries. Up to this point, cheap frozen goods from abroad have forced meat producers in the Southern Urals to sell their products below cost. Now the best options will be devised for cooperation on the local market, benefiting consumers most of all.

Chelyabinsk's bodies of water are also a real goldmine, as they are lavishly stocked with their delicious quicksilver treasure. Currently only 20% of over 3.5 thousand lakes are fished commercially. One hundred sixty fish farms produce only one kilogram of fish per year per capita, although medical recommendations advise 20 kilos for each individual. At Boris Dubrovsky's behest, the conceptual framework behind commercial fisheries is being developed, allowing fish production to double. In 2013, 3.2 thousand tons were cultivated, but that number will jump to 7 thousand in 2020.

Boris Dubrovsky emphasized that the heightened risks found in agriculture, including erratic weather - cannot serve as an excuse, but rather a motivation to insure against those hazards as much as possible. There are many ways to do this: through crop insurance, new innovations created by plant breeders, watering systems, and cold storage.

In particular, the Chelyabinsk Agricultural Research institute, which recently celebrated its 80th birthday, is actively working on plant selection. That institute has created 14 new varieties of soft spring wheat that have been added to the state register of advances in plant breeding. Varieties have been developed that are resistant to both heat and moisture, as well as some that can be harvested ahead of schedule, if bad weather is suddenly predicted.

Barley breeders also have something to brag about - five new varieties developed by local scientists have been added to the state register. Now they are working to increase the protein content of feed-grain varieties for cattle and pigs. And hulless barley is being grown to meet the needs of poultry farms – our feathered friends can easily digest the grain without its outer husk.

Crop cultures that increase the productivity of livestock are being actively studied. Research on soy, lupine, rape, flax, and false flax is particularly relevant to the Chelyabinsk region.

Recommendations on how to till and sow in specific geographical locations are also useful for farmers. Contemporary minimal or no-till technology is particularly being looked at, taking into account the climatic and soil differences throughout the region. No-till farming calls for crops to be directly sown without mechanically working the soil beforehand, retaining all the crop residues. To accomplish this, scientists calculate the optimal selection of herbicides, the timing of their introduction into the soil, and the equipment needed to work the land. These technologies, which conserve resources and energy, will reduce costs and make the crops more resistant to weather conditions. Without deep plowing, the land retains its moisture and fertile layer of soil.

Officials in the Southern Urals are confident that all investments will pay for themselves a hundred times over. Although they invested only a little over a billion rubles in agriculture in 2013, farmers have now added almost an extra 7 billion to the current budget, taken as a whole.

Nor is anyone refusing to work with the countries that have a positive relationship with Russia. The Southern Urals is exploring the possibility of cooperation with China and South Korea. The Koreans are not averse to dairy farming and cultivating greenhouse vegetables. And the Chinese see a promising future in the processing of food products. They are interested in the work of the Sigma vegetable-oil factory, the Chelyabinsk oil and fat plant, and the Gardens of Russia research and production association.

Nor does the general public fear starvation - many in the Southern Urals gave up imported foods long ago. Meat, bread, milk, and vegetables can all be obtained through local producers - an option is that more environmentally responsible and affordable.

Lyudmila Solodkova