The recovery and development of Chechen agriculture are the priority issues in 2009-2010. Last year, several agricultural plants were put into operation. Work on the reconstruction of infrastructure has been continued, but there is still much to do. Recently, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov noted that the agricultural sector was damaged during the war more than other spheres of the Chechen economy and its recovery needs the assistance of the federal government. The Ministry for Agriculture in partnership with the Agricultural Academy are currently drawing up a plan for the development of the agricultural sector in the North Caucasus Federal District's republics.
The main aim of the plan is the recovery of soil fertility, an extremely difficult and long process. A Chechen agronomists pointed out that for a long period the soil has been exploited in the wrong way, which has exhausted its fertility. "We use the recommended type of crops, but due to soil damage their resistance to diseases is very low, which leads to really poor harvests," he said.
It is expected that this year more than 86,610 hectares of soil will be ploughed - a good figure, despite the fact that 70,000 hectares are still out of agricultural usage and up to 6,000 are mine-infested.
According to the head of the Chechen research institute Nurabek Adaev more than 95% of the republic's goods are imported. He noted that federal government is implementing a range of programs aimed at sustaining private farming in order to provide for food supply security and employment. Another serious problem he mentioned is the large amount of highly-fertile non arable soils allocated for construction and gardening in the period between 1997-2008. The state has the right to withdraw this property if the land is non arable, but people say the problem can only be resolved by the state, as there is not enough water in the irrigation channels and some soil is still mined. People also experience great difficulties in selling agricultural products as there is no trade infrastructure.
Meanwhile the republic is experiencing so called sugar beet boom. Specialists consider putting into operation a new sugar plant as a new stage of agricultural development. The construction of a packing plant in Gudermes is also very promising. It is expected that the plant will process fruits and vegetables grown not only in Chechnya, but also inother North Caucasus republics.
Chechen agronomists also say that the scientific element is very important in the process of the agricultural recovery of the republic. It is very important to receive recommendations from scientists in the sphere to make the recovery successful. To this end, an agricultural consulting agency has been established.
Timur Ytsaev, Groznii, Exclusively for VK.
