Russia's agricultural policy

Russia's agricultural industry is believed to be one of the largest in the world. Russia is ranked the world's fourth-largest producer of grain, fifth-largest producer of meat and sixth-largest producer of milk, largest producer of sugar and seventh-largest producer of vegetables. However today the Russian agricultural sector is facing a number of challenges. Producers believe the reason is Russia's joining of the World Trade organization. The state is trying to support the agricultural industry, but this help is not always effective. The Russian government has even launched a state programme for the development of agriculture for 2013-2020.

According to the Deputy Director of the Economy and State Support of the Department of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, Mikhail Losev, some 286 billion roubles was spent on agriculture last year. 198 of it was provided by the federal budget and 70 billion by regional budgets and private companies. The spending part of the budget was implemented 99 percent, he informs.

The question is, how efficient was this support? According to Losev, there are some problems concerning the production of vegetables. "Those forms of state support that were chosen after Russia joined the WTO seem quite sufficient, but we still have to improve them. We managed to achieve the majority of our goals, but there are unresolved issues concerning the production of milk. We need new methods to deal with this problem," the official said.

Last year machinery production in Russia decreased for the first time since 2009. The main reason is the drop in investment. Joining the WTO also damaged the sector, especially the production of agricultural machinery. According to the Director of the Russian Agricultural Research Institute, Ivan Ushachyov, the amount of Russian machinery on the internal market constitutes 66 percent. In 2013 the amount of imports constituted 43.1 billion dollars. Russia now imports more milk, oils, sugar and vegetables, the expert says. Russia enjoys 9 percent of the world's productive soil and produces only 3 percent of its agricultural products. Russia is the largest exporter of gas, but it provides its rural population only with 50 percent of its needs. The reason is the current agricultural policy and the macroeconomic situation, he explains.