Pavel Martynov, exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
In early July, the speaker of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, conducted a session of a timely commission of the Council in Pyatigorsk. The commission deals with the monitoring of Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization and the Customs Union. She tried to find out whether economies of the North Caucasus Federal District’ regions were adapted to the WTO in the agricultural sphere.
“The WTO theme is acute for us, because agricultural and food products take more than 28% in the GDP of the republic,” the head of Kabardino-Balkaria Arsen Kanokov says. In the past five years, 24.8 billion rubles of subsidiaries were allocated to the support of agriculture in the republic. The state financial support of agricultural industry and social development of villages was 7.1 billion rubles. Last year, the republic promoted 82 investment projects within the state program of agricultural development. As a result, the output volumes increased by 1.5 times. The head of Kabardino-Balkaria thinks that despite difficulties, “joining the WTO improves Russia’s competitiveness, while cooperation with other countries will enable it to shift to a new development level.”
Moreover, the authorities of the republic hope to employ the majority of unemployed people in the agricultural sphere – through development of cooperation and support by material and technical resources of farmers. “Natural and climatic peculiarities of the republic should be its advantage. Kabardino-Balkaria is able to take a significant place in the market and produce high-class fruits and vegetables. We should implement new technologies in farming. Our people want to work, but we should motivate them. We are constructing agricultural centers – one of them is in Baksan,” Kanokov told the head of Rosagroleasing Valery Nazarov.
Today the square of industrial greenhouses surpasses 40 ha; private greenhouses cover more than 360 ha. At the same time, businessmen complain that they have to work under huge pressure. For example, they state about the problem of inaccessibility of financial resources, expensiveness of credit resources, huge fiscal responsibilities, limited access to outlet markets, the lack of skilful staff, and administrative barriers. Since the beginning of 2013 more than 3,500 businessmen had to shut down their enterprises.
“It is very hard to run minor and medium business today,” Arsen Kanokov admits. “I think it is a big deal to run your own business. Businessmen are disturbed by administrative obstacles and high credit interests. The most important thing is not to disturb businessmen from their business. We will try to support them… We can take leading positions in gardening in the country. We should construct nursery-gardens for growing plants for 2 euro, rather than importing them from Italy for 6 euro.”
Kabardino-Balkaria also counts on tourism. The special economic zone of the republics tourist cluster is divided into three parts: the territory of Circassian and Chegem municipal regions (Bezengi); the territory of Elbrus municipal region (Pre-Elbrus); and Zolsk municipal region (Dzhily-Su). By the end of the year the project of development of the special economic zone should be started.
