Russia (bbabo.net) - Farms gain their first victories in competition with large farms. According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the number of farmers is growing, they already account for about a third of the grain harvest in Russia and 14 percent of gross agricultural production. And last year, according to the ministry, it was they who ensured the growth of indicators of domestic livestock production. Moreover, over the past five years in peasant farms, the increase in livestock and poultry production (for slaughter) amounted to 25 percent, milk - 38 percent, eggs - 45 percent.

Practice has shown that the best indicators are obtained by farms in regions with large land areas. Deputy Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, curator of the agro-industrial complex Andrey Korobka cites Kuban as an example:

“We have the most powerful farming sector in Russia in the region - more than 13 thousand farms. In addition, there are 169 agricultural cooperatives in the Kuban, more than a million personal subsidiary farms. That is, a third of the regional volume of milk, a third of meat, two-thirds of vegetables, nearly half of the eggs. million rubles. And this is only for direct programs to support small and medium-sized agribusiness ".

Farmers have a lot of land, stressed the deputy governor. Of the total area of ​​agricultural land - and this is about 3.8 million hectares - the share of small businesses accounts for 1.2 million hectares, including farms - 1.1 million. This is 30 percent of the entire sown area in the territory of the Kuban. We can say with complete confidence that every hectare of this land is used for its intended purpose, and there are no difficulties in obtaining it.

There are also many distribution channels for farm products, and the demand for it is growing steadily. Firstly, the trend for healthy food is strengthening, organic products - exactly those that are produced by farmers. Secondly, small businesses produce truly unique products. In addition, they are more mobile and able to quickly adjust production to meet changing consumer needs.

But it would be unfair to say that the issue of selling products from farmers is a thing of the past. It occurs, but, as a rule, in those who work alone. Its solution lies in cooperation. As practice shows, agricultural cooperatives have no problems either with the sale of products or with production and material and technical resources. That is why the region is betting on the development and strengthening of this area, providing farmer associations with significant state support. These are weekend fairs in each municipality, as well as "Farm Courtyards" where free places are provided for farmers to trade.

In the past two years, farmers have been actively developing online trade and delivery services. This was originally due to the pandemic, when farmers' markets and weekend fairs were closed during its peak. As a result, the new trading format became not just a temporary way out of the situation, but a new opportunity for development.

Commentary

Evgeniya Serova, Director of the Institute for Agricultural Research, National Research University Higher School of Economics:

- The concept of "farmer" in our agriculture appeared in the late 1980s as an antithesis to state agricultural enterprises, collective farms and state farms. At that time it was actually the only market-oriented private sector in agriculture. And, of course, it was all a startup. As a startup, they got help - tax breaks, subsidies, propaganda, and so on. But today this function of farming has disappeared, now we have the entire private sector, and if there are startups, then they can be among farmers and among large companies. The division into farmers and non-farmers has basically lost its meaning. Today there are agricultural producers, and this is a mistake in our legislation, which made farmers a separate legislative entity. You may have a large land bank, there may be many people to hire, and the fact that you own this business as a family does not distinguish you in any way, for example, from the agro-industrial complex. Tkachev, which is also a family property.

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