World meat industry news

Cherkizovo Group, Russia's largest meat producer, and the National Intellectual Development Foundation (Innopraktika brand), an organization that supports research projects pursued by students, postgraduates and young scientists, have signed a cooperation agreement that will focus on promoting competitive domestic agricultural technologies supported by the latest scientific insights.

The Cherkizovo-Innopraktika agreement provides for cooperation in several priority areas. These include creating infrastructure to propel advanced technologies in the Russian agricultural sector. As part of these efforts, the Innagro project launched by Innopraktika is expected to deliver joint testing of biological medical products for agricultural applications. On top of that, the initiative intends to facilitate collaboration in R&D, with Innopraktika engaging experts to take part in studies, and Cherkizovo providing venues for product testing and validation.

Developing educational programs to nurture human resources for agriculture could also become an important part of this cooperation. The parties are planning to create and roll out model projects aimed at developing agricultural universities and preparing new programs in genetics, biotechnologies, microbiology and other advanced areas. On top of that, there will pre-university programs for school students and events to promote agriculture as a high-tech, knowledge-intensive industry. These will include thematic contests for young talent, master classes and seminars for schoolers and students, as well as internships and placement for students.

Furthermore, the agreement offers opportunities for joint preparation of proposals to update the regulatory framework and strategic planning documents with a marked impact on the agricultural sector.

“We know that Cherkizovo Group places special emphasis on staff training and innovation. The Group has a European-class laboratory center focusing on the research and development of food products. Given the Group’s technological excellence and vast geography, we believe that the experience and competencies of Cherkizovo’s professionals and the Company’s approach to developing modern agriculture will form a solid basis for our cooperation,” said Vladimir Avdeenko, Head of Agro- and Biotechnology Development at Innopraktika.

“Currently, Russian food producers, who have already made great progress in import substitution, are facing another ambitious task of capturing a fair share of the export markets. Given the fierce competition environment, the task can be accomplished through the deployment of the latest agricultural technologies. We see cooperation with Innopraktika as an opportunity to develop promising solutions to support technological improvement of Russia’s agriculture, while making Russian foods more popular across the globe,” commented Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group.  

Innopraktika is a non-governmental development institution with a mission to promote Russia’s national human capital by developing innovation-driven economy. Established in 2012, the Company unites the National Intellectual Reserve Center of Moscow State University and the National Intellectual Development Foundation supporting research projects pursued by students, postgraduates and young scientists, founded by Lomonosov Moscow State University.