Karachay-Cherkessia will feed Russia with meat

The Dymov company, aided by the French, is expanding to the North Caucasus market.
As in any other mountainous region, only one third of North Caucasus land is suitable for agriculture, and only a small percentage of it is suitable for crop farming. High-mountain pastures and meadows are only used in the summer. That is why distant-pasture animal husbandry was always an important branch of the economy. Property in the Caucasus is in the form of livestock. Sheep, goats, horses and cows influenced the trend of craft development, traditionally tied up with the production of stock-raising products – the manufacturing of cloth, clothes and felt production…
Russian animal husbandry for meat is in a deep recession – 80% of meat is imported. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, beef production has fallen from the 1990s from 29 kilos a year per person to 12.5. The livestock population also fell by 20%. As well as this, they are genetically worse than Western examples. Specialists say beef farming is low-cost. According to “Selskaya Zhizn” (Country Life), citing American agro-industry authorities, every dollar from realized beef attracts 5 dollars to adjoining spheres. And this industrial sector in America provides work for over a million enterprises, farms and ranches. Over 800 thousand ranches and 33 million animals are involved in beef-farming. Although America has only 10% of the world’s beef livestock, it produces 25% of the world’s beef. Solving the problems with feed-stuff production, the proper education of specialists and regulation of links between cattle production, processing and network in Russia could make the beef-farming development program a success by 2012.
Today Karachay-Cherkessia is organizing and developing a beef-farming program. They are planning to create a breeding stock-rearing base, build or modernize beef and feed-stuff farms and enterprises for primary processing of livestock, enhance the feed-stuff base by returning agricultural land uses into agricultural circulation, put in order hay-cutting and pastures. Realizing the program will increase the livestock from 5,300 in 2008 to 59,700 in 2012. The program from 2009 to 2012 requires the spending of 2,279,000,000 roubles ($76,000,000. According to Yuga.ru the minister of agriculture of the republic of Karachay-Cherkessia noticed that “the density of hay-making and pastures in the republic’s structure of agriculture land use is 72.5%. It shows the expediency of changing the specialization of animal breeding from dairy-meat to meat-dairy. It is preferable to develop beef-farming based on low-cost and relatively highly effective intensive pasture technology… Besides providing food, it will also provide jobs and increase the profit sections of budgets of all levels.”
Recently, the republic’s president, Boris Yebzeev, met representatives of Dymov and the French company RCG Agro Development, which is eager to work in Karachay-Cherkessia. Dymov representatives presented a project of developing beef-farming and its processing, while the French were fascinated:

”Karachay-Cherkessia seems like a heavenly land, and with the help of feed-stuff grown on such land, we can achieve great results.” The French know well, based on their experience, that it takes a lot of time to restore beef-farming. It requires a fast increase of livestock and long research in genetics. It took France 40 years to work on this problem.
Nonetheless, “Dymov” and the French decided to send their experts to the republic to estimate the meat-cattle potential and formulate recommendations for improving the efficiency of beef-farming. They will also take part in realization of the project of creating a meat holding for storing, slaughter, deep processing, refrigeration and realization of ecologically clean meat of meat-cattle. The investors expressed their willingness to participate in animal pedigree development for the rapid forming of a core of specialized beef breeds using modern technology.
Just recently, Dymov, a maker of elite quality meat products, presented its plan for work in the republic of Kalmykia. Based on the Iki-Burulian enterprise Ulan, they are planning to carry out experimental cross-breeding of Kalmyk breed cows with limousin breed bulls. French specialists from RCG Agro Development will help in the scientific research, with the help of Kalmyk scientists. In the future, Dymov is ready to cooperate with other agricultural manufacturers and invest into creating a European standard slaughterhouse, as well as offer help to any farmer interested in co-operating.

A VC summary of information:

RCG Agro Development is a leader in European beef-farming. Dymov has existed for ten years in Russia.. The company’s founder is 39-year-old Vadim Dymov, a graduate of Ussuriisk Suvorov School, the Higher Political-Military School of Donetsk, and the Far East State University. In 1994 he retired as a First Lieutenant and three years later founded the Ratimir company, which became the leading meat processing company in the Far East. Founded in 2001 Dymov produces 170 types of meat products, including products with pistachio, walnuts, oregano, dried plums and other unusual and unique flavors.