The Russian government has signed a bill that restricts the import of nine agricultural crops from unfriendly countries. The new rules will come into force on October 1 of this year. Such a decision, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, will push domestic breeders to more active work in terms of import substitution of seeds. What problems may await Russian farmers in the new reality? The Agrovesti portal looked into this.
Russian farmers are dependent on imported seeds; for some crops the situation can be called critical. Thus, the share of domestic sugar beet seeds accounts for only 3% of the total seeding, and potatoes – only 9%. The government spoke about the need to systematically reduce dependence on imported seeds several years ago; in February of this year, this issue was already discussed quite seriously. At the same time, figures were announced that worried the Ministry of Agriculture: the level of self-sufficiency in seeds of the main agricultural crops in Russia is 60.3%, while the threshold value of the Food Security Doctrine is 75%. Restrictions on the import of potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, rye, barley and corn, soybeans, rapeseed and sunflower will come into effect on October 1. And for now this restriction will only last until the end of the year. “Yes, after the introduction of the decree, fewer seeds of foreign selection will be imported into our country. But we do not consider ...
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