Agricultural development in Russia: realities and prospects. Agricultural development in Russia: realities and prospects Cattle breeding of the Ryazan region

The importance of crop production cannot be overemphasized

Crop production is one of the first and fundamental industries Agriculture... Its role in the formation of the economy, and indeed of all mankind, can hardly be overestimated. It is plant growing that is the basis of food security in any country, and the provision of the population with food depends on its development.

Crop production provides the lion's share products consumed by the population of the Earth in the modern world. It is the backbone of international production and trade.

What are the main crops for global crop production?

The area under crops of major grain crops such as wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats, rice occupies more than half of all arable land on the planet, and in some countries, such as Japan, this figure reaches 95%.

Crop industries - the main crop production area

Modern agriculture includes cultivation huge amount plant species. In this regard, the crop production sectors are also quite diverse. it is customary to distinguish the following areas:

• - grain production
• Gardening and viticulture- growing fruit crops
• Vegetable growing and melon growing- growing vegetables and melons
• Technical crop production- cultivation of industrial crops
• Feed production- growing and production of animal feed

The largest and most important branch of plant growing for mankind is grain farming, which, as the name implies, is engaged in the cultivation of various grain crops.

Grain is the basis of food for the population and main factor food security, as well as a forage base for animal husbandry.

The main crops grown in most countries with developed agriculture, including Russia, are:

• wheat
• corn
• buckwheat
• barley
• millet

Let's talk about the main cultures in more detail.

Wheat

Cultivated for more than ten thousand years, wheat remains the most important crop production in the world today. Wheat is grown everywhere except in tropical countries.

Scientists are inclined to believe that the homeland of wheat is an area located in Turkey. Although for many years among scientists, especially Soviet ones, there was an opinion that the place where people first began to grow wheat artificially was Armenia.

Due to the variety of varieties and hybrids bred by breeders, almost any type of soil and climatic region is suitable for growing it. And in terms of its resistance to cold weather, it is second, perhaps, only to barley and potatoes.

An interesting fact: the ancient Slavs revered wheat, considering its grains a symbol of wealth and prosperity; they tried to protect the grain of wheat from spoilage.

The world centers of wheat cultivation are Russia, Kazakhstan, USA, Canada, Australia, Western Europe.

World wheat production photo

Although the fact that in ancient times people ate wheat grains has been known for a long time, the wheat was growing wild, and people gathered ripe crumbling grains from the ground.

Corn

The word "corn", according to scientists, comes either from the Romanian "cucuruz", which translates as "fir-cone", or from the Turkish word "kokoroz", meaning the stem.

Another name for corn - "maize" appeared thanks to Christopher Columbus, who, seeing the plant, called it "the seed that gives rise to the ear" - "mahiz". In some countries, corn is called "Turkish millet".

But the birthplace of corn is considered to be Southern Mexico and Guatemala. This cereal is grown everywhere, but Brazil, the United States and China are traditionally considered the world leaders in industrial corn cultivation. Large volumes of corn are grown in Mexico, India, Argentina, South Africa, France, and, of course, Russia. In the USSR, corn, thanks to Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, became the most important cereal.

Corn is used very widely both for food production (Asia, Latin America, Africa) and for feed (USA, Western Europe).

Growing corn in Russia

Rice

Rice is the staple of the diet and daily diet of many Asian countries and most of the world's population. Therefore, it is not surprising that this is the second largest cereal in terms of cultivation. Rice in Asia replaces the usual potatoes, cereals and even bread.

Rice is exported to Europe, Latin America, Canada and the USA, where it is also very popular and loved by consumers.

The world's leading rice producers have held their ground for over a decade. Six countries are constantly competing for a place in the top three: China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Myanmar and Bangladesh. They are also the largest rice consumers.

Experts predict an increase in rice production in the coming years. This is primarily due to the rapid population growth in countries where rice is the main source of food.

Horticulture and viticulture as a branch of plant growing

Gardening is engaged in the cultivation of perennial fruit and berry trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Naturally main goal horticulture is the production of fruits and berries for direct consumption or processing.

Gardening plays an important role in protecting the environment. It is known that the leaves of trees and shrubs produce oxygen by absorbing carbon dioxide and protect against dust. Therefore, garden plantings are used to create a green layer around cities, create parklands, etc.

Despite the active development and support of gardening during the Soviet era, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, everything began to decline. Without government support, most horticultural and fruit farms simply closed, while the rest are in decline.

Therefore, gardening in Russia at the moment is mostly small specialized farms or dacha and personal subsidiary farms.

Viticulture is both the cultivation of grapes for direct consumption and a raw material base for the production of juices, canned food, raisins, and, of course, the wine industry.

The world centers of viticulture are France, Spain, Latin America, Africa. In Russia, more than 90 percent of grape production is concentrated in the North Caucasus and Krasnodar Territory.

Vegetable growing and melon growing

The types of crop production include the cultivation of vegetables and melons.

The most common types of vegetables include all types of cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, zucchini, eggplants, as well as root vegetables such as carrots, radishes, and sugar beets.

With melons and gourds, the situation is more complicated, since strictly defined climatic conditions are suitable for their cultivation. The most commonly grown and popular melons and gourds are primarily melons and watermelons.

Since the 18th century, potatoes have been almost the most popular product in the world, perhaps second only to grain crops.

In Russia, potatoes have become part of the main foodstuffs due to their relatively low price and good taste.

Therefore, Russia is one of the world leaders in potato production: the largest potato producers in the world are: China, Russia, India, Ukraine, USA, Germany, Poland, Belarus, the Netherlands, France.

Potatoes are grown for the following purposes: 60% for consumption in natural form or composition of products, 15% for animal feed, 25% for processing for industrial purposes.

Cultivation of industrial crops

The importance of the plant growing industry - the production of industrial crops - is also difficult to overestimate. It is aimed at growing plants for further processing into raw materials for various industries.

In Russia, technical plant growing is widespread and production technologies are quite developed.

The main types of industrial crops grown in Russia are fibrous plants from which fabrics, rubbers are made, as well as oil crops, which serve as a raw material base for the production of oils, and are used in the soap and paint and varnish industries.

The most widespread cultivation of cotton, flax, hemp, sesame, jute, sunflower.

Feed production

This branch of crop production is no less important than those described above, but rather even more priority. The fact is that without it, the development of another most important branch of agriculture - animal husbandry - is impossible.

For animal feed, both specially grown feed crops and residues from the processing of other crops are used.

The growth of the livestock sector depends on the growth and development of the fodder industry. Therefore, in our country, this branch of crop production has always been given great attention.

Development and problems of crop production

Despite the large production volumes and the world leadership in the export of some crops, our country is still experiencing big problems in crop production.

This is influenced by many factors: underdevelopment, and sometimes complete absence infrastructure, stagnation in technological and innovative development after the collapse of the USSR, poor technical equipment, monopoly retail chains that set low purchase prices.

The state, realizing the importance of the development of agriculture, as the basis of the country's food security, is trying, of course, to support crop production, highlighting budget resources to support farms reforming agriculture.

The impetus for the development of domestic crop production was given by the introduction of sanctions against Russia. Economic sanctions allowed Russian manufacturers crop production to remove the shackles of competition with foreign producers. Entrepreneurs now have a sense of expanding production, opening up new directions of crop production, and simply there is hope and faith in the future.

A source: Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Ryazan Region

The agriculture of the Ryazan region in 2017 in actual prices ensured the production of goods in the amount of 57.2 billion rubles. In the rating of the regions of the Central Federal District, the Ryazan Region took 10th place according to this indicator, with a share in the total agricultural output of the Central Federal District at the level of 4.1%.

In 2017, the structure of agriculture in the Ryazan Region was dominated by the plant growing industry, the share of products of which was 59.0%, the share of livestock products - 41.0%.

The main branches of agriculture in the Ryazan region: dairy farming, pig breeding, poultry farming, grain production, sugar beet production, oilseeds and feed production.

In crop production, the production of grain crops accounts for over 50% of general production... The production of grain and leguminous crops amounted to more than 2 million tons. Ryazan Region took 7th place in the Central Federal District with a 6.5% share in production.

In animal husbandry, a significant role is played by dairy cattle breeding and beef cattle breeding. In 2017, the region took 4th place in terms of milk production and 6th place for beef production, 11th place for pork production in the Central Federal District.

Plant growing of the Ryazan region. Sown area.

The agriculture of the Ryazan region is distinguished by a relatively large area of ​​\ u200b \ u200bthe total sown area was 911.3 thousand hectares (this is 5.8% of all sown areas in the Central Federal District). According to this indicator, the Ryazan region took 7th place among the subjects of the Central Federal District.

Crop production in the Ryazan region is largely based on the cultivation of grain crops. In the structure of the sown areas of the Ryazan region in 2017, winter and spring wheat accounted for 35.2% of overall size area in the region, for winter and spring barley - 16.9%, corn for grain - 2.4%, oats - 1.8%, for winter and spring rye - 0.8%.

The share of leguminous crops accounted for 7.4% of all sown areas of the Ryazan region, sugar beet - 0.8%, winter and spring rape - 4.3%, sunflower - 5.3%, mustard - 0.6%, soybeans - 1 , 7%, camelina - 0.04%.

The share of areas under potatoes in the region accounted for 2.5% of all areas, open ground vegetables - 0.7% of all areas. Forage crops accounted for 18.3% of the total sown area in the region.

Crop production in the Ryazan region

Wheat production in the Ryazan region. The gross harvest of winter and spring wheat in the Ryazan region in 2017 amounted to 1291.0 thousand tons (this is 6.9% of the total wheat harvest in the Central Federal District). Wheat production in the region, in relation to 2016, increased by 32.1%. According to this indicator, the Ryazan region took 7th place among the regions of the Central Federal District. The sown area of ​​this grain crop also increased by 5.9% and amounted to 320.8 thousand hectares (7.5% of the total wheat sown area in the Central Federal District). According to this indicator, the Ryazan region took 8th place among the regions of the Central Federal District.

Rye production in the Ryazan region. The collection of winter rye in the Ryazan region in 2017 increased by 37.0% and amounted to 19.5 thousand tons (7.1% of the total rye harvest in the Central Federal District, 4th place). The sown area of ​​this grain crop also increased by 21.2% and amounted to 7.4 thousand hectares (7.9% of the area of ​​rye in the Central Federal District). By the size of the rye sown area, the Ryazan region took the third place in the Central Federal District.

Barley production in the Ryazan region. In 2017, the gross harvest of spring barley in the Ryazan region increased by 59.6% to 471.3 thousand tons (7.6% of the barley harvest in the Central Federal District, 7th place). The sown area under this crop decreased by 6.6% to 153.9 thousand hectares (8.7% of the barley area in the Central Federal District, 7th place in the rating of regions).

Oat production in the Ryazan region. The gross harvest of oats in the Ryazan region in 2017 increased by 75.3% to 42.2 thousand tons (5.3% of the total oat production in the Central Federal District, 9th place). The sown area is at the level of last year - 16.4 thousand hectares (4.6% of the oats area in the Central Federal District, 10th place).

Gross harvest of agricultural crops, thousand tons

Production of corn for grain in the Ryazan region. In 2017, the gross corn harvest in the Ryazan region decreased by 42.2 %% and amounted to 77.6 thousand tons (1.7% of the total corn harvest in the Central Federal District, 8th place). The sown area under corn also decreased, compared to 2016, by 7.1% and amounted to 22.1 thousand hectares (2.3% of the area of ​​corn for grain in the Central Federal District). According to this indicator, the Ryazan region took 8th place among the regions of the Central Federal District.

Buckwheat production in the Ryazan region. Buckwheat harvest in the region in 2017 increased 2.5 times and amounted to 4.8 thousand tons (1.7% of buckwheat harvest in the Central Federal District, 10th place). The sown area of ​​buckwheat also increased 3.3 times to 7.0 thousand hectares (2.2% of the buckwheat area in the Central Federal District, 9th place among the regions of the Central Federal District).

Production of leguminous crops in the Ryazan region. In 2017, the harvest of leguminous crops in the Ryazan region increased by 63.5% and amounted to 171.3 thousand tons (17.5% of the total production in the Central Federal District, 2nd place). Of this volume, 161.6 thousand tons fell on peas (20.8% of the total production in the Central Federal District, 2nd place).

By the size of the sown area of ​​leguminous crops, the region took the 2nd place. In relation to 2016, the increase was 15.7%, the area - 67.1 thousand hectares (16.5% of the area of ​​legumes in the Central Federal District). Including 56.7 thousand hectares were sown under peas (21.1% of the pea area in the Central Federal District, 1st place).

Sugar beet production in the Ryazan region. In 2017, the production of sugar beet in the Ryazan region increased by 3.9% and amounted to 352.7 thousand tons (1.2% of the sugar beet harvest in the Central Federal District, 8th place). The sown area increased by 8.4% to 7.7 thousand hectares (1.2% of all sugar beet areas in the Central Federal District 8th place in the rating of the Central Federal District regions).

Sunflower seed production in the Ryazan region. The collection of sunflower seeds in the Ryazan region in 2017 amounted to 56.7 thousand tons, + 2.1% by 2016 (2.3% of the total collection in the Central Federal District, 7th place). The sown area increased by 41.5% to 48.2 thousand hectares (3.4% of the sunflower area in the Central Federal District, 7th place).

Soybean production in the Ryazan region. In 2017, the volume of soybean production in the Ryazan region decreased by 5.7% to 18.2 thousand tons (1.6% of the total harvest in the Central Federal District, 9th place). The sown area of ​​soybeans also increased by 45.6% to 15.3 thousand hectares (2.0%, 9th place).

Rapeseed production in the Ryazan region. The collection of oilseeds of spring rapeseed in the Ryazan region in 2017 increased by 41.8% and amounted to 58.9 thousand tons (14.0% of the total collection of rapeseed in the Central Federal District, 3rd place). The sown area decreased by 13% and amounted to 39.2 thousand hectares (15.4% of all sown areas in the Central Federal District, 3rd place).

Mustard seed production in the Ryazan region. In 2017, the collection of mustard seeds in the Ryazan region decreased by 33.4% to 2.2 thousand tons (12.1% of the total production in the Central Federal District, 4th place). The sown area of ​​this crop also decreased 2.1 times to 5.7 thousand hectares (15.3% of the mustard area in the Central Federal District, 3rd place in the rating).

Potato production in the Ryazan region. In 2017, the production of potatoes in the Ryazan region decreased by 4.5% and amounted to 352.7 thousand tons (3.7% of the total potato harvest in the Central Federal District, 10th place). The sown area of ​​potatoes decreased by 5.6% and amounted to 23.1 thousand hectares (4.2% of the area of ​​potatoes in the Central Federal District). In terms of the size of the cultivated area of ​​potatoes, the Ryazan region was in 10th place among the regions of the Central Federal District.

Vegetable production in the Ryazan region. The gross harvest of vegetables in open and protected ground in the Ryazan region in 2017 decreased by 6.4% and amounted to 99.9 thousand tons (3.3% of the total volume of vegetables produced in the Central Federal District, 12th place). Of this volume, 96.5 thousand tons are for vegetables in open ground and 3.4 thousand tons for vegetables in protected ground. Over the past year (against the indicators of 2016), the production of open field vegetables decreased by 5.6%, the collection of greenhouse vegetables decreased by 24.0%. The sown area of ​​vegetables in open ground also decreased by 2.7% to 6.3 thousand hectares (4.6%, 9th place).

V value terms the volume of crop production in the Ryazan region in 2017 amounted to 33.7 billion rubles. or 4.8% of total cost produced crop products in the Central Federal District. According to this indicator, the Ryazan region took 10th place among the regions of the Central Federal District.

Animal husbandry of the Ryazan region

In the agriculture of the Ryazan region, animal husbandry plays an important role. In 2016, according to preliminary data from Rosstat, the cost of livestock products amounted to 22.4 billion rubles. The share of this region in the total value of all livestock products produced in the Central Federal District amounted to 3.6%. This put the Ryazan region in 11th place in the rating of the regions of the Central Federal District.

In the animal husbandry of the Ryazan region over the past few years, trends have been traced:

• an increase in the number of pigs and pork production;
• a decrease in the size of herd of cattle, including cows, while there is an increase in milk production with a relatively stable production of beef;
• the number of sheep and goats is decreasing every year, and the production of lamb and goat meat shows a positive trend;
• a significant reduction in poultry meat production; and an increasing production of eggs.

The structure of meat production by type in the Ryazan region in 2016 looked as follows. The total volume of production of all types of meat in live weight amounted to 70.0 thousand tons. Of this volume, pork accounted for 52.0%, beef - 36.43%, poultry meat - 7.71%, mutton and goat meat - 2.43%, other types of meat - 1.43%.

Pig breeding of the Ryazan region

Pig breeding in the Ryazan region has been developing positively for a number of years.

The number of pigs in the Ryazan region as of the end of 2016 in all categories of farms amounted to 169.7 thousand heads or 1.7% of the total pig herd in the Central Federal District (11th place in the rating of the Central Federal District regions). Over 5 years (by 2011) it grew by 9.3%, by 2010 - by 19.5%.

Pork production in the Ryazan region in 2016 reached 36.4 thousand tons in live weight. The share of the Ryazan region in pork production in the Central Federal District amounted to 1.8%. For 5 years, the volume of production of this type of meat increased by 46.2%, by 2010 - by 58.3%.

Pork production impacted by outbreak in 2016 African plague pigs, which led to the destruction of livestock in pig farms in the region.

Cattle breeding of the Ryazan region

Cattle breeding of the Ryazan region in recent years has been characterized by relatively stable volumes of beef production and an increase in milk production.

The total livestock of large cattle in the Ryazan region as of the end of 2016 amounted to 165.2 thousand heads (5th place) or 5.7% of the total number of cattle herds in the Central Federal District. Including, the number of cows totaled 66.2 thousand heads (5.7%, 5th place). Over 5 years, the size of the cattle herd has decreased by 7.0%, by 2010 - by 8.4%. The number of cows over 5 years decreased by 11.6%, by 2010 - by 12.8%.

Beef production in the Ryazan region in 2016 was at the level of 25.5 thousand tons in live weight. For 5 years, beef production increased by 6.7%, but by 2010 it decreased by 9.3%. The region's share in the total beef production in the Central Federal District was 5.4% (7th place).

Milk production in the Ryazan region in farms of all categories in 2016 amounted to 381.1 thousand tons or 7.0% of the total milk production in the Central Federal District (this is the 4th place in the ranking of Central Federal District regions - milk producers). There is a decrease in milk production in the region. For 5 years, the volumes increased by 4.1%, by 2010 - by 4.6%.

Poultry farming of the Ryazan region

The poultry industry of the Ryazan region, according to official data, in recent years is more and more reoriented to egg production - the volume of meat production is falling, egg production, on the contrary, tends to grow.

The production of poultry meat in the Ryazan region in 2016 amounted to 5.4 thousand tons in live weight. For 5 years, the production of this type of meat decreased by 77.9%, by 2010 - by 79.3%. The share of the Ryazan Region in the total volume of poultry meat produced in the Central Federal District in 2016 was 0.2% (16th place in the rating of the Central Federal District regions - poultry meat producers).

Egg production in the Ryazan region in 2016 in farms of all categories amounted to 787.7 million pieces, or 8.6% of the production volume in the Central Federal District (4th place among the regions of the Central Federal District). The region has seen an increase in the production of poultry eggs. For 5 years, the volumes increased by 14.4%, by 2010 - by 21.3%.

Sheep and goat breeding of the Ryazan region

The number of sheep and goats in the Ryazan region as of the end of 2016 amounted to 57.8 thousand heads or 5.1% of the total number of sheep and goats in the Central Federal District (9th place in the rating of regions). The size of the sheep and goat herds in the region has tended to decrease in recent years. For 5 years it decreased by 2.2%, but by 2010 it increased by 3.8%.

The production of lamb and goat meat in the Ryazan region in 2016 amounted to 1.7 thousand tons in live weight. Over the past 5 years, it has grown by 41.7%, by 2010 - by 54.5%. In the total volume of lamb and goat meat production in the Central Federal District, the share of the Ryazan region was at the level of 5.0% (7th place in the rating of regions producing this type of meat).

The results of the agriculture of the Ryazan region in 2017.

Agricultural enterprises of the region received a profit in the amount of 2.6 billion rubles. The profitability level was 9.4%. The share of profitable agricultural enterprises is 81.8% (-1.4 pp to the level of 2016). The average monthly wage in agriculture for the full range of organizations amounted to 23,904 rubles and increased by 9.5% by 2016.

MOSCOW, Dec 23 - RIA Novosti. The outgoing year for agriculture can be called anything but simple. The difficulties were different: both within the country and during export; they were associated with both the weather and the human factor.

Nevertheless, either due to these difficulties, or in spite of, the domestic agro-industrial complex in 2017 set various new records, providing more than one reason for the pride of the Russian authorities.

But if 2017 was such a busy year, what can you expect from next year? Will it be as challenging? It's hard to say. Who, for example, in December last year could have guessed that such uncomfortable weather this spring could lead to such an outstanding harvest of 130 million tons of grain?

On the other hand, the tasks that will need to be addressed in 2018 are already visible - these are the development of the logistics infrastructure and support for domestic demand.

Let's catch up and overtake America

The main agrarian event of 2017 for Russia is undoubtedly new records of grain export and harvest. The first record was set at the end of June: according to the results of the 2016-2017 agricultural year (from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017), grain exports from Russia amounted to 35.474 million tons, which is 4.7% more than in the previous season.

Wheat supplies abroad last season increased by 10% - up to 27.075 million tons. These indicators updated the achievements of the previous agricultural year: then the country exported 33.9 million tons of grain, including 25 million tons of wheat.

And although last season Russia lost the first place in the world for the supply of wheat (the United States exported about 29 million tons), both the Russian authorities, analysts, and even the United States Department of Agriculture expect Russia to return to the title of leader this agricultural year.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation expects that grain exports from the Russian Federation in the current agricultural year will amount to 45 million tons, and wheat supplies may reach 40 million tons. According to the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of the Russian Federation, as of December 13, grain exports from the Russian Federation increased by 34% compared to the previous season - up to 24.5 million tons. Wheat was exported 33.2% more - 19.074 million tons.

By the way, one should not forget about the outstanding results shown by the export of Russian sunflower oil. Although Russia is in second place after Ukraine in this indicator (at the end of the 2016-2017 season, more than 2.2 million tons of sunflower oil were shipped), the achievement of this level, coupled with the expansion of sales markets, can be considered a success of the Russian agro-industrial complex.

"Tomato Wars"

The outgoing year was also remembered for another event related to export, which was quite extended in time. The supply of Russian grain, and other products as well, could suffer from the restrictions that Turkey introduced and canceled during the year - and this country is one of the main importers of domestic agricultural products in general and grain in particular.

Russia has imposed an embargo on the supply of a number of products from Turkey since January 1, 2016, in response to a Turkish Air Force attack on a Russian Su-24 in Syria at the end of November 2015. In addition, the Rosselkhoznadzor in 2016 banned the supply of Turkish tomatoes, peppers, pomegranates, eggplants, lettuce and iceberg lettuce, zucchini and pumpkins to the Russian Federation.

Since the fall of last year, the restrictions have been gradually lifted. As a result, since the beginning of June 2017, Russia has retained only the ban on the import of tomatoes, as well as the restrictions of the Rosselkhoznadzor. In parallel, negotiations were underway to open the Russian market for Turkish tomatoes - and the domestic market is very important for Turkish producers.

And while the countries were negotiating to lift all trade restrictions, the Turkish authorities took measures that - directly or indirectly - pushed Russia to lift their bans. For example, since March 15, Turkey has changed the procedure for the import of certain types of agricultural products for processing within the country, including wheat and sunflower oil.

At the same time, Russia was not included in the list of countries eligible for duty-free supplies. Later, Turkey announced the lifting of these restrictions, however, at the end of May, several Russian and Turkish agricultural associations reported that Ankara had introduced new barriers to trade. For example, for Russian companies the number of import licenses for the inward processing regime has been limited, which entitles duty-free import goods.

Since October 9, Turkey has introduced new restrictions on the supply of agricultural products from the Russian Federation: the certification of invoices presented in customs services when importing wheat, sunflower oil, corn and a number of other goods, the country of origin of which is Russia.

Ultimately, Russia partially lifted the ban on the import of Turkish tomatoes - by the end of 2017, Turkey can supply no more than 50 thousand tons of tomatoes to the Russian Federation. However, there has not yet been any evidence of the lifting of Turkey's October restrictions. And all these events were unofficially referred to as the "tomato war".

The Taming of the Shrew

About the history of another record - grain harvest - we can say unequivocally: "This thing is stronger than Goethe's Faust." And the point here is not only the significance of the very fact of achieving the highest harvest in the entire history of Russia, but also in how exactly this peak was conquered. And the ascent was not easy.

The harvest in 2016 amounted to 120.7 million tons of grain - the highest in the newest Russian history... The first official forecasts of the Ministry of Agriculture for the harvest of the current year - they usually appear in April, when it becomes clear how the winter crops survived the winter - were quite accurate: more than 100 million tons, more than 110 million.

However, the weather made its own adjustments: April and May this year were very cold, in the regions, even in these months, sleet was observed. And the usual rain was a frequent visitor in the fields. Already in May, the Agrarian Ministry stated: the rate of sowing of spring crops in 2017 lags behind last year.

This posed a threat to the harvest. In early June, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev admitted that due to bad weather conditions and a protracted spring, this year's grain harvest will exceed 100 million tons, but will not exceed 110 million.

But, as the saying goes, if it has disappeared somewhere, it has arrived somewhere. The winter crops survived the past winter quite well, and the prolonged rains filled the earth with moisture.

In July, Petr Chekmarev, head of the crop production department of the Ministry of Agriculture, speaking at the Field Day in Kazan (ironically, to the accompaniment of a powerful rain) recalled 1978: there was heavy harvesting, heavy rains, but then Russia (as part of the USSR) reaped a record crop - 127 , 4 million tons. A good harvest, according to Chekmarev, could be seen this year, if the weather smiled at the farmers in August-September. His words were prophetic. The weather in autumn was really good, and with the course of the autumn work it became clear: there will be a new record.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as of December 18, the country harvested 140.4 million tons of grain in bunker weight, and the harvest in net weight, according to Rosstat, in 2017 amounted to 134.1 million tons. This is 11% more than last year and 5.3% more than the historical record of 1978.

That the coming year?

The answer to this question from the perspective of December 2017: nothing seems to be wrong.

Agricultural production in Russia is growing and there is no reason for it to decline sharply. Financing of the agro-industrial complex from the budget next year will remain at the level of the outgoing year - it will amount to 241.986 billion rubles. If the export of grain does not fail, then at least one record is guaranteed for the country.

So far, the forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation assumes a harvest in 2018 at the level of 110.6 million tons of grain - not a small figure at all. On the other hand, collecting high harvests for several years in a row, Russia may face a decline in world grain prices, which, in turn, can cause a decrease in the profitability of domestic farmers.

"In a situation of a sharp increase in production, indeed, prices are often reduced in the world market. But Russian products are competitive, therefore, in the long term, the share of Russian exporters will grow," said Daria Snitko, head of the Gazprombank Center for Economic Forecasting.

In turn, Elena Razumova, an expert at the Analytical Center for the Government of the Russian Federation, pointed out that at the end of 2017, it became obvious that the logistics infrastructure was not ready for ultra-high yields, both in terms of transportation and storage of grain.

In addition, industry participants have been saying for several years that the dependence on imported capital goods in Russian agriculture raises concerns.

"Many agricultural producers do not use domestic seeds, and some are significantly dependent on imported seed material, in particular beet growers. Solving the problem of localizing production of means of production - seeds, machinery, veterinary preparations and much more - will be relevant in the coming years," Snitko said.

In turn, Razumova from the Analytical Center admitted that a decrease in profitability in key sectors of the agro-industrial complex - these are grain, oil and sugar segments - could become a problem. "To support it, the state will have to actively stimulate investments," she said.