Non-Breaking Post-Soviet Land

If it’s possible to make new agriculture locomotive of the Russian development? To the session of a club “Roy” on November, 22nd

There are 40 million hectares of useless since 1990 lands in the Russian Federation, the area of the whole Germany – “non-breaking” land today. Literally – our national shame.

Whether it is possible to make these lands work? Whether it is possible to make new agriculture one of the locomotives of development of the Russian Federation?

On the threshold of the Moscow economic forum in March, 2013 our political-economic club "Roy" holds a meeting of the Agrarian section of a forum.

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Russia possesses 12,6% of the world’s stock of lands (8,8% – arable lands), hardworking people able to work on the land, effective technologies allowing to receive rich crops and climatic conditions necessary for intensive development of agriculture. Huge capacity of the national and foreign markets of agricultural products (large markets of Europe and the USA, intensively growing of China, India, Africa) allows our country to make breakthrough in development, to diversify economy in natural way, to strengthen geopolitical influence in the world and to render essential help to those who enters into billion of starving people of our planet.

Though, contrary to available possibilities, indicators of this branch strongly fluctuate last twenty years and don’t exceed 70% of the volumes of the Soviet period even during the best times of existence of the RF. 40 million hectares of our arable land (the area of all land of Germany - 34, 9 million hectares) ceased to be used since 1990. Production of grain for 20 years fell by 20%, beef – by 62%, milk – by 43%. Thus import of food grew 4,5 times!

We are often told that the Russian Federation surpassed crops of the Soviet time. Though actually mid-annual harvest of grain of the period 1986-1990 of the RSFSR in 105 million tons hasn’t been ever reached. 30,9 million tons of sugar beet, 43,5 million tons of potato, 3,0 million tons of sunflower were collected in 1986 in the RSFSR, 52,6 million tons of milk and 8,9 million tons of meat were produced.

In 2011 the Russian Federation gathered 46,2 million tons of sugar beet, 32 million tons of potato, 9,6 million tons of sunflower, grain harvest made 93 million tons. There were produced 32,4 million tons of milk, 4,01 million tons of meat (taking into account shadow production – 6 million tons).

The simplest calculation says that use of at least 25 million hectares of lands not used since 1990 at ordinary productivity in 20 centners from "hectare" would give not less than 50 million additional tons of grain to the country. Or (divide it by 8) – not less than 6,5 million tons of meat.

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It is obvious that today after accession to the WTO the power does everything that those decent indicators reached to 2011 fell.

Whether it is possible to treble agro-industrial sector of the country in principle?

On November, 22, 2012 at 12:00 in the Congress Hall of the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Ilyinka Street, 6, metro Ploshchad Revolutsyi) we will carry out discussion on a subject: “Agriculture of Russia: Whether Triple Growth Is Possible?” Here you are points of our discussion:

• What are reserves of the Russian agriculture?

• How subsidies in the branch should be distributed?

• Whether honest competition of domestic and foreign farmers is possible today?

• How to expand and reduce food basket for socially unprotected segments of the population?

• Whether ecological products could become the national brand of Russia?

• Whether it is possible to do without GMO?

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From my point of view, implementation of such program is a large-scale national project. The power has money for it: simply it steals it and waste on unnecessary things.

I would appoint Vasily Melnichenko the head of the project “New Village” - the author of the program “New Village – New Civilization”. It’s practice which has own economy. Moreover, I would interbreed megaproject with the projects of construction of futurepolises and new highways for available and cheap transport. With the program of road making. With the project of creation and production of agro-cars of a new type: robotized, when one person can operate the work of ten combines.

Surely I would involve the team of the Society of Biotechnologists led by professor Raif Vasilov.

Raif Vasilov suggested to launch the project called Bioekopolis. Its essence – creation of a network of bioecopolises using the most modern achievements in the sphere of biological power (biogas), agro-, aqua-, eco- and wood biotechnologies to ensure own living. Only at the expense of application of biotechnologies for recycling of garbage, wastes of agricultural production and wood industry it is possible to earn huge money. There’s no need to talk about processing of agricultural products. Vasilov offered: average number of bioecopolis should make 100-150 people living in modern houses of farmstead type. Each polis receives 100-1000 square kilometers for business activity and from 1000 to 10 000 square km - for nature protection activity. Thus we receive network of development of bioeconomy - economy of knowledge. Thus costs of the initial stage of the program are insignificant: about 150 billion rubles for ten years (in prices of 2008). The rest is involved at the expense of private and state partnership. Business will start to duplicate successful model itself.

Маxim Kalashnikov, member of the Federal Council of “Partiya Dela”

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