Russia: In the Astrakhan region they denied a shortage of tomato seeds

There are no problems with the supply of tomato seeds in the Astrakhan region yet, the regional government reported. They noted that this also applies to other vegetable crops, and talked about the work that has been done to resolve this issue. In particular, the regional Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery Industry is actively working with domestic companies to reduce their dependence on foreign seed material, promoting varieties bred exclusively by local breeders abroad, and also organizes joint seminars with the planting of demonstration crops and “field days.” In addition, the head of the region, Igor Babushkin, generally supports the industry. In particular, on his instructions, funds are allocated from the regional budget to reimburse the costs of growing vegetable and melon seeds and to compensate 80 percent of the costs of registering new varieties of domestic selection with the State Variety Commission. As Vzglyad writes, the problem is also refuted by regional and ...