Oleg Malashchenko, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Leningrad Region, Chairman of the Committee on Agroindustrial and Fishery Complex, spoke about results of the work in the regional agricultural sector. According to him, in 2023, the total amount of production and processing of products in the agroindustrial complex increased by 32 billion rubles and exceeded 410 billion rubles.

«First of all, the Leningrad Region is famous for its dairy farming, there is no way without it. In fact, 95% of our farms are breeding enterprises, and this year the average yield will make about 10.3 thousand kg, which indicates significant productivity of cows», emphasized Oleg Malashchenko.

This year, milk production in the Leningrad Region is expected to increase from 714.7 thousand to 723.3 thousand metric tons. Amounts of cattle meat production in the region is also increased, as noted Oleg Malashchenko. According to him, for a long time farmers focused on milk production, considering raising calves economically unjustified, but now the situation has changed. This was facilitated by introducing the subsidy for livestock growth, which amounts to 4 thousand rubles per calf. He also stressed that there are big plans to increase production of pork, poultry and eggs in the Leningrad Region.

Aleksey Kolchik, Director of the St. Petersburg Regional Branch of Rosselkhozbank JSC, stated that banks have changed their approach to choosing borrowers:

«Even four years ago I would have said that in the agroindustrial complex, the strongest wins, but now the smartest wins. It is not enough to have land or a rich investor, the management system is important. And we give money to someone who has good management, and even collateral is no longer so important».

He explained that if there is no financial specialist in the agricultural enterprise, everything, as a rule, ends badly. In this case, even with a low loan rate and partial repayment of capital costs, the company may face bankruptcy.

«Now I see that farmers, even small farms, finally started to outsource, hire normal auditors, for the purpose of normal operation of the system associated with building financial flows», added Aleksey Kolchik.

Oleg Emtsev, Head of the North-Western Interregional Rosselkhoznadzor Administration, pointed out in his speech importance of introducing new technologies for product quality control. According to him, at present, in Russia, there are 16 various automated systems, including «Mercury», «Saturn», «Argus-Phyto», and «VetIS». Digital technologies help increase efficiency of the agency’s activities.

«Over the past 3–4 years, the share of counterfeit products has been decreasing, and, accordingly, competitiveness of bona fide manufacturers has been increasing. For example, in the dairy industry, previously up to 30% of the turnover was counterfeit products. Now this indicator has much decreased», he commented.

In particular, the Rosselkhoznadzor uses artificial intelligence for analyzing veterinary and accompanying documents in the «Mercury» system. The head of the North-Western Interregional Rosselkhoznadzor Administration noted that, for example, if an enterprise received 1 thousand metric tons of raw materials, and 5 thousand metric tons of finished products came out, then it is clear that some kind of manipulation takes place.

«Mercury» has also been integrated with the systems of the Russian Export Center and «Honest Sign», continued Oleg Emtsev.

«All this is done to facilitate not only the work of an inspector from the supervisory authority, but also business», he concluded.

Vitaly Morozov, Rector of St. Petersburg State Agrarian University, said that in Russia, agricultural education becomes increasingly prestigious. According to him, more than 2 thousand people have enrolled in the University this year.

«Children know and understand that education in this field will make it possible for them to get a profession that will feed them», explained the rector.

This year, St. Petersburg State Agrarian University will arrange the educational classroom dedicated to the Leningrad Region, where main trends characteristic of regional agriculture will be presented. The University also has joint laboratories with its industrial partners, including «PhosAgro» and the Petersburg Tractor Plant.

«This allows students to get acquainted with the most advanced practices and technologies, such as agrodrones, milking robots, unmanned tractors», informed Vitaly Morozov.

According to the Committee on the Agroindustrial and Fishery Complex of the Leningrad Region, in 2024, 114 people were enrolled in universities for targeted training within the quota in areas of training in agriculture, fishery and engineering.

Aleksander Bryukhanov, Director of Institute of Agroengineering and Environmental Problems of Agricultural Production, drew attention to importance of research and technical support for the industry.

«The Leningrad Region is a leader in a number of areas in animal husbandry and poultry farming. But there are nuances associated with adoption of the law on animal by-products. A lot of work is currently underway to support manufacturers and develop technological regulations for its implementation», he noted.

Aleksander Bryukhanov declared this law to be mainly purposed at preservation and maintenance of soil fertility and agricultural land.