At the collegium of Tatarstan Ministry of Agriculture Rustam Minnikhanov thanks farmers for their dedicated work

On 30 January, speaking at  an expanded meeting of the collegium of the regional Ministry of Agriculture and Food dedicated to results of the agribusiness work in 2023 and tasks for 2024, which was held at the Kazan Expo Exhibition Center,  the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov thanked all farmers for their dedicated work.

Before the meeting the Rais of the republic accompanied by the regional Minister of Agriculture and Food Marat Zyabbarov and other officials looked round and exhibition of outsizal equipment and got acquainted with the exposition showing products of self-employed, scientific organizations and small farms.

The keynote speaker of the collegium - the regional Minister of Agriculture and Food Marat Zyabbarov reported that having produces 289.2bn rubles of agricultural products in 2023, the republic ranked the fifth among other regions of Russia in agribusiness gross output.

The industry index made 92.1 p34 cent even though in the last few years we managed to maintain average results of the gross output of products due to growth of cattle breeding. In the total the agribusiness including food industry produced nearly 590bn rubles of products with our share in the GRP making 6.5 per cent,” Marat Zyabbarov informed. He emphasized that last year was a kind of a rain check for agricultural producers and they encountered rain shortage, growth of prizes of industrial produce, construction materials and expensive loans. “And all this with simultaneous drop of prizes on agricultural products,” he stated.

The regional Minister said that the republic ensures demand of the population for basic locally produced food products.

Marat Zyabbarov also informed that tax arrears of the agribusiness made 514m rubles last year showing the growth of 6.9m and added that even though the number of debtors decreased twice, the issues must be under a strict control.

Speaking at the meeting Rustam Minnikhanov thanked agricultural workers for their dedicated work and priceless contribution into achievements of the republic.  He reminded that despite the drought the republic harvested 3.6m tonnes of grain and provided stable work of cattle-breeding and have made a stock of necessary forage.

“Agriculture has great achievements due to attention and timely support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Government and the Ministry of Agriculture of the state,” he said.

He also separately thanked agricultural workers for their held rendered to the special military operation.

Rustam Minnikhanov said that even though Tatarstan was a cattle breeding republic, there are separate regions where the situation is becoming worth and gave an errand to heads of these regions to find ways of solving the problem.

“There is no cattle breeding and these causes absence of work, And when there is no work people go somewhere else. These results in loss of specialists and it will be very difficult to bring them back. They close the farm, then a school and a shop. And that’s it – in five years there will be no village,” he concluded.