Russia continues to make announcements about
supporting farming, this time with the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture
emphasizing the need to develop seed breeding.
At a recent meeting of scientists and seed breeders the Minister
said they must ensure that farmers are supplied with quality Russian seeds and it
is necessary to change the proportion of seed on the market to compete with
foreign selection.
The market share of imported seeds is 20% to 80% depending
on the crop, currently 70% of sugar beet seed is imported, 28% corn, 44%
sunflower, 23% vegetables and up to 80% of potatoes.
The Minister said that national seed breeders needed to
master modern technologies to ensure control over the production and
circulation of seeds.
It’s probably a fair point but it wasn’t reported how any this
would be funded and seed breeding it can be an
expensive and lengthy process.
If you’re one of the foreign seed companies currently
importing into the lucrative Russian market I wouldn’t worry too much just yet
but, as I say often in these blogs, it does illustrate the intent of Russia’s
agricultural policy so best be prepared.