In a recent government statement, it was acknowledged that Russia faces challenges in achieving self-sufficiency in vegetable production without relying on foreign seeds. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev highlighted this issue during the educational marathon "Knowledge.First."
According to Patrushev, "For vegetables, sugar beets, corn, and sunflowers, we are still largely dependent on imports. We must make a breakthrough and introduce varieties and hybrids to the market that would satisfy the needs of our farmers and yield the desired results."
Earlier this year, farmers from the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, which are key areas for vegetable production, reported difficulties in obtaining imported seeds. They warned of potential negative impacts on the spring planting campaign.
Representatives from the Astrakhan region expressed concerns over a shortage of tomato seeds. Despite the region's overall seed supply for vegetable crops being at 77%, Astrakhan's largest tomato producer, the "Astrakhan" agro-industrial complex, had only 35% of the necessary Dutch seeds.
In the Volgograd region, there was a notable scarcity of seeds for carrots and onions, with availability at just 20%. Tatyana Gubina, head of the Potato Union's office, pointed out that open-ground vegetable producers continue to depend on imported seeds, with the Netherlands and Germany being the main suppliers.
Source: www.moscowtimes.ru