World meat industry news

The development of meat sheep breeding in the North Caucasus Federal District and the improvement of state support measures in this segment became the key topics of the round table dedicated to the development of livestock breeding, which was held today as part of the business program of the Caucasian Investment Exhibition. The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Andrey Razin.

Cattle breeding is a basic and socially significant direction in the agriculture of the North Caucasus. In particular, the North Caucasus Federal District ranks first in the country in the production of sheep and goats. For 3 months of the current year, this figure increased by 5.6%.

According to Andrei Razin, the department consistently and systematically provides support to this livestock sector, contributing to its progressive development. Every year, producers in this segment are allocated funds from the federal budget, which are directed to the construction of modern sheep farms, the purchase of equipment, breeding stock, and much more.

Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture is working on changes to existing state support measures. In particular, from 2024, the list of possible recipients of subsidies and an increase in their availability for small businesses is expected for the North Caucasus Federal District. To compensate for the direct costs incurred for the creation and modernization of sheep-breeding meat complexes, it is planned to reduce the criterion for the capacity of facilities to at least 3 thousand cattle places. The possibility of compensating the direct costs incurred for the creation and modernization of feedlots with a capacity of at least 3 thousand livestock places is also being worked out. When calculating subsidies to support sheep and goat breeding, a multiplying factor of 1.2 will be set. In addition, the maximum period for providing preferential investment loans with a rate of up to 5% will be up to 15 years for sheep breeding complexes.

Separately, the event discussed the development of genetic potential in this segment. To date, pedigree sheep breeding is represented in 29 regions - these are 33 breeds and more than 1.1 million sheep.