‘Districts are wary of the development of dairy cattle breeding’
The head of the Association of Farmers and Peasant Farmsteads of Tatarstan explained why the regions of the republic lag behind in the purchase of breeding cattle
Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov delivered another annual message to the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan. During the report, he paid attention not only to the social, economic, and political block, but also, as usual, to the agricultural sector. In his speech, the head of the region named a number of problem areas that cannot cope with the purchase of breeding cattle and also lag behind in the production of dairy products. As the head of the Association of Farmers and Peasant Farms of Tatarstan, Kamiyar Baytemirov, says, some investors are not interested in buying cattle, and some districts are wary of milk production due to low purchase prices. Read about the way out of the current situation and how it will affect the growth of prices for vegetables in the material of the publication.
“Our main task is to prevent a decrease in livestock”
As Minnikhanov stressed, support is provided in all directions for the development of animal husbandry in the republic. From the purchase of breeding cattle to the construction of high-tech complexes and feed centres. However, despite that these tools are the same for everyone, they are used in different ways. During the speech, the rais criticised the Drozhzhanovsky and Kamsko-Ustinsky districts, and eight different districts of the republic were also criticised at once. The reason was the refusal to purchase breeding cattle and the lack of dairy production.
“For example, not a single head of breeding cattle was purchased in the Drozhzhanovsky and Kamsko-Ustinsky districts last year. Currently, no major investment projects are being implemented in Drozhzhanovsky, Verkhneuslonsky, Rybno-Slobodsky, Mendeleevsky, Almetyevsk, Laishevsky, and Pestrechinsky districts. As a result, only one Kukmor district produces more milk than these eight combined. This is 140 thousand tonnes of milk a year. Our main task is to prevent a decrease in the number of livestock. The roadmap for its restoration, construction of new livestock complexes has been adopted by Tatarstan agricultural holdings. The Ministry of Agriculture needs to ensure control over the implementation," the head of the republic stressed.
“Investors have committed themselves to build a modern dairy farm and purchase new cattle”
The head of the Association of Farmers and Peasant Farmsteads of Tatarstan, Kamiyar Baytemirov, was asked to comment on the current situation in the areas with cattle breeding and milk production by Realnoe Vremya. An expert in the field of agriculture says that the problems of the Drozhzhanovsky district are related to that investors who enter there are interested in producing only grain and industrial crops, not engaging in cattle and dairy cattle breeding.
“I see this only as a problem. There are also farms there, implementing a grant support programme, they will also purchase breeding cattle. The same investor also came to the Kamsko-Ustinsky district as in the Drozhzhanovsky district. But, as the Ministry of Agriculture of Tatarstan said, these investors have committed themselves to build a modern dairy farm and buy new cattle, as well as to buy cattle that were before," Baytemirov explained.
As for the poor performance of eight districts of the republic in the field of milk production, then the specialist speaks of a low interest in this area. After all, in order to do this well, the districts should have this very interest.
“Well, at least Kukmorsky and other districts have taken certain turns in the amount of milk production, and other districts are wary of the development of dairy cattle breeding. Because milk prices have plummeted and the profitability of its production has shrunk. Therefore, many people are thinking what to do next. I can't say yet how long it will last. But, as Oksana Lut, the deputy minister of agriculture of Russia, said at one of the meetings, there is overproduction in the country, enterprises need to convert to another production. But I think that Tatarstan will not go this way, because there are cattle not only in large farms and agricultural holdings, but also in the ordinary population. Then president of the republic Mintimer Shaimiev also said: “If a villager does not have a cow, then there is no villager. If a villager has a cow, then there is a village," the interlocutor of the publication said.
According to Kamiyar Baytemirov, Tatarstan has a different concept of development. He also noted that there is not enough milk in Russia as a whole, and it is also bought in the republic. Along with milk, palm oil is also bought, and this figure is 1 million tonnes. According to the head of the Association of Farmers and Peasant Farms of Tatarstan, the refusal to purchase palm oil can motivate other regions of the republic to more intensive production of dairy products.
“We need to make sure that agricultural producers have something left in their pockets”
Baytemirov also commented on the results of grain harvesting in Tatarstan. As Rustam Minnikhanov stated during the address, in 2023, farmers collected 3,7 million tonnes of grain. He assured that the harvest of grain and vegetables collected in Tatarstan this year will provide the residents of the republic with these products.
“The drought has also affected the harvest, this is natural. If there is no moisture, then, of course, the yield will decrease. Therefore, Rustam Minnikhanov stressed the importance of land reclamation, because it is necessary to develop more reclamation lands. Tatarstan is located in such a way that the largest rivers flow through its territory, there are enough small rivers. It is necessary to use water resources to have a harvest. It is possible look at it from the other side: the peasants will give a harvest, but there are questions about pricing. It is necessary to make sure that agricultural producers have something left in their pockets, and it did not turn out that they would be left with debts to banks," Baytemirov believes.
The expert added that now the republican producers are at a crossroads, because they cannot afford to sell products below cost. The thing is that the costs associated with the production of meat and vegetables have jumped sharply, because the prices of diesel fuel and gasoline have risen, and it remains unknown how to cover the resulting costs.
“Certainly, the autumn prices will affect vegetable crops and potatoes," concluded Kamiyar Baytemirov.
