Mikhail Mishustin takes part in Golden Autumn 2024 Russian Agricultural Exhibition

The Prime Minister addressed the plenary session titled Agricultural Industry 2030: Achieving Technological Leadership, and presented state awards to agricultural workers.

Mikhail Mishustin's remarks at the plenary session:

Good afternoon, colleagues, friends.

I am delighted to welcome you to the Golden Autumn exhibition.

For more than 25 years, this forum has been bringing together people who devoted their lives to agriculture and farming. It gathers people from across all agricultural segments, as well as their business partners in related sectors, including trade, engineering, chemicals, and transport. Of course, there are also experts, researchers and business leaders.

This is a platform for sharing best practices and discussing essential matters on developing this sector. Of course, the proposals you put forward at the Golden Autumn forum largely shape the state support framework for the agricultural industry. They also help preserve traditions and master cutting-edge solutions for fulfilling the objectives as set forth by the head of state.

Our primary objective consists of expanding domestic agricultural output by at least 25 percent by 2030 compared to 2021, while exports must increase by 50 percent. This is what the President said in his Address to the Federal Assembly.

These benchmarks found their way into a new national project titled Technological Means for Ensuring Food Security. Scheduled to begin next year, it largely builds on our previous achievements and relies on the existing instruments. Let me highlight the key tools at our disposal.

The principal instrument for evaluating the efficacy of the agro-industrial sector is the National Food Security Doctrine. Its implementation is a fundamental pillar of our sovereignty, aimed at enhancing the quality of life and safeguarding public health.

We have observed encouraging trends across most indicators stipulated in the doctrine, encompassing grain, meat, fish, sugar, oil and fat products, and potatoes. The objectives for vegetable and melon production have been virtually achieved, and there is growth in milk production.

These achievements have been realised amidst the unprecedented sanctions imposed upon our nation. Notably, this year marks a significant, if one may say, memorable milestone - ten years since the imposition of external restrictions on food imports to Russia. Our agricultural sector has capitalised on this opportunity with considerable success.

Since 2014, each harvest season has yielded a minimum of 100 million tonnes of grain, with the past five years surpassing 120 million tonnes annually. Dairy production has witnessed a 13 percent increase within the same timeframe, while meat production has surged by 35 percent. Food processing has expanded by 44 percent, with certain sectors achieving even greater growth - cheese production at the national level has already doubled. A substantial portion of goods that were predominantly imported a decade ago are now sourced within Russia. Furthermore, not only agricultural raw materials but also meat delicacies and confectionery products are increasingly being exported from our country.

We can confidently assert that this year will yield significant accomplishments in various agricultural crops. The harvesting campaign is nearing completion across the regions. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, approximately 120 million tonnes of grain have been harvested. We anticipate a favourable yield of rice, sunflower, and vegetables.

This success is principally attributable to the dedication of our agricultural producers.

The Government, for its part, remains responsive to the sector's requirements. We ensure state support via the federal budget. In the draft federal budget submitted to the State Duma, approximately 560 billion roubles have been earmarked for this purpose in the forthcoming year.

We are also actively employing additional development mechanisms. Primarily, these consist of soft loans for seasonal field operations and investments. We offer grants to small and medium-sized enterprises, including - as highlighted at today's exhibition - start-up entrepreneurs, family farms, and agricultural consumer co-operatives.

Moreover, we are facilitating technological advancements. As of the end of September, approximately 19,000 units of machinery were distributed to agrarians through leasing and discount subsidy programmes. This includes combine harvesters, tractors, and other self-propelled machinery. Since last year, we have broadened access to advantageous leasing terms for the procurement of equipment, particularly for food industry enterprises.

The construction of new vessels for the fishery industry progresses under the investment quota mechanism. Thirty vessels have already been delivered to customers, and 25 fish processing plants have been established. This development is poised to expedite catch processing, thereby enhancing productivity levels in this sector.

Where necessary, we implement flexible regulatory measures to benefit our agrarians, which include imposing temporary restrictions on the export of essential goods such as fuels, lubricants, and mineral fertilisers.

Our domestic market and the interests of Russian consumers definitely remain a major priority, which means we do not resume exports at full capacity unless the domestic market offers enough goods to meet the needs of local agricultural producers.

The measures I mentioned earlier are just what we need and have proved highly effective.

The development of rural areas is the most important part of our work. The future of Russian agriculture depends on the people who live in the countryside. It is essential to encourage young people to consider employment in rural areas after completing a college or university course. With the current shortage of qualified personnel, large companies - we talked about this at the exhibition today - are investing in the training of future employees. But most people certainly consider employment in places where there is modern infrastructure and comfortable living conditions for their families.

Significant progress has been made in this respect in the past few years. In the four years that the relevant state programme has been implemented, about 12 million people have seen real changes - about a third of Russians living in rural areas.

About 2,000 rural public facilities, amenities and utility infrastructure have been built or repaired, including essential services such as schools and kindergartens, cultural centres, utility networks and much more, depending on the region's or community's needs.

Over 150,000 families have taken advantage of preferential rural mortgages at an interest under 3 percent.

About 100,000 permanent jobs have been created in the process of taking steps towards the integrated development of rural areas.

The promotion of agro-tourism has opened up new opportunities for employment in the countryside. We saw some fantastic examples today. The government has been providing support to this segment for only two years, but it has already had a very positive impact on small businesses and raised awareness of regional food brands. And most importantly, people are happy to visit agro-tourism facilities. More than 800,000 guests have already vacationed there over the time of this initiative. We will continue to create all the necessary conditions for the growth of agro-tourism.

We will continue to use other well-proven practices. One of them includes benefits paid to medical workers under the Rural Doctor programme, which helps attract about 6,500 physicians, paramedics, obstetricians and nurses to rural communities every year.

In 2025, the Rural Cultural Worker programme will go on stream. As you know, young cultural workers will be able to receive grants of 1 million roubles under this programme, and those participants who move to Russia's Far East, the Far Eastern Federal District, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, the Kherson or Zaporozhye regions, will be entitled to a lump sum of 2 million roubles.

As for the funding for the integrated rural development programme, the money has been earmarked in the draft federal budget for the next three years. Moreover, in 2025, the amount will actually double to over 100 billion roubles.

Therefore, I ask my colleagues from the regions to take this into account in their budget planning, and to be more active in proposing projects that meet the conditions to receive funding under this programme.

Now about the tasks we have to fulfil.

Together, we must give our agro-industrial complex a chance to develop even faster and more effectively, based on our own resources.

This is why the new national project includes five federal ones. They cover such issues as selection, genetics, introduction of biotechnology, production of Russian veterinary medicines, machinery, equipment and, of course, the training of qualified personnel for the needs of the industry.

Providing Russian seeds is one of the most significant tasks. Everyone at the exhibition is talking about this. Finetuning is required here. After all, while we have a fairly high level of our own materials as regards grain crops, even better than required by the food security doctrine, a lot still has to be done as regards sunflower, corn, and sugar beet. That is why we are maintaining such a measure as reimbursement of almost half of the direct costs incurred for selection and seed centres.

We are also updating the livestock breeding base. Its results are presented here, at the Golden Autumn exhibition, including the number of meat breeds, which have the best productive qualities.

In order to increase veterinary safety, we will also enhance the development of domestic vaccines and the necessary medicines. Our universities and research institutions that will tackle these tasks will receive significant state support. The enterprises that will produce them will also receive access to preferential investment loans in order to provide farmers with Russian medicines for veterinary use by 2030.

We will also have to improve the equipment of food producing facilities, both by building new ones and upgrading the existing ones. The share of Russian-made equipment for milk processing enterprises should be almost 80 percent by 2030, and capacity for storing and primary processing of grain, as well as for the flour milling industry should be about 90 percent.

I have just mentioned some sensitive issues for the industry. Of course, the national project also covers an entire range of other very important tasks necessary to achieve technological and industrial sovereignty.

Special focus must be placed on personnel.

I believe that it is necessary to talk about this here, at Timiryazev Russian State Agrarian University, where there are many competent scientists, teachers and mentors. I think that, together with your colleagues from other agricultural universities of the country, you will take an active part in the professional guidance of students.

Colleagues,

Agriculture is rapidly transforming around the world. It is becoming more technological, more digital, if you like. This includes responding to the growing demand for food. There is still a lot for us to do for the Russian agricultural industry to remain competitive under these conditions.

As the President noted, it is utterly important for us to ensure the interoperability and close coordination between the authorities, representatives of business community, science, education, and business associations while implementing the national project.

Here, at the Golden Autumn exhibition, we have every opportunity for discussions and successful negotiations. We need to work together to create a modern agro-industrial complex of the country.

I would also like to congratulate all forum participants and guests on the upcoming holiday - Agriculture and Food Processing Industry Worker's Day.

Thank you very much to everyone who is completing harvesting, taking care of animals, baking bread, conducting laboratory research today. Thank you to everyone who ensures our food security every day.

I wish you, your families and, of course, the teams where you work, health, prosperity and success! Thank you.

I have already said that employers are interested in training young people for the industry. Businesses offer internships to young people, to students and also launch special agricultural classes in schools. About 4,000 of them have been opened in educational establishments since 1 September.

These classes include in-depth study of respective subjects as well as study trips to agricultural enterprises. Teachers and vocational training instructors can also take advanced training within the Professionalism federal project.

It is very important that schoolchildren make a conscious choice when taking up a profession. Those who want to work in the agro-industrial sector will, of course, be able to get education in more than a thousand vocational and technical schools. At present, over 220,000 students are studying under such programmes. In the new academic year, about 3,000 students have signed agreements on targeted training. In fact, they already know where they will work after receiving their education and defending their diploma because they already have a job contract with their employers.

Almost 22,000 students are studying agriculture in 141 higher education institutions of the country. Universities continue to update academic programmes so that young people receive more up-to-date knowledge. Soon such specialties as agricultural plant breeding and animal genetics may appear.

Today, 14 agricultural universities are actively engaged in the Priority 2030 programme of strategic academic leadership and the Professionalism and Advanced Engineering Schools projects.

We expect that the support measures envisaged under the new national project will be able to provide at least 95 percent of competent personnel to agro-industrial sector enterprises.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.