World meat industry news

It will become easier for Russians, and, in particular, owners of farms, to conclude lease agreements for agricultural land that is state and municipal property. Such a bill was submitted to the State Duma by the Government on June 2. In both chambers of the Russian parliament and in the farming community, they support the initiative, expecting that the amendments will increase the size of the sown area, and hence the volume of agricultural production.

About 400 million hectares of agricultural land are currently used for their intended purpose in the country, while, according to various experts, there are about 40 million hectares of unused agricultural land in Russia. The State Duma and the Federation Council have long stated that the involvement in the work of the fields that are still overgrown with weeds would give a huge impetus to the development of the agricultural complex. And we can say that on this issue, the deputies and senators with the Cabinet of Ministers have complete mutual understanding: since January 1, the state program for the effective involvement of agricultural land in circulation, calculated until 2031, has been launched in the country. The Government plans to return 13.2 million hectares of land to business.

The process will also be facilitated by a government bill that allows farmers to rent a plot for up to five years without going through the bidding procedure, but on condition that the land is not subleased or transferred to third parties. After this period, the lease can be extended or the land can be acquired, the Government explained. This will create new jobs, as well as increase production volumes for small and family agricultural enterprises. In addition, the project will provide additional benefits to owners of small farms, who find it difficult to compete with large agricultural companies at auctions where they conclude contracts for the lease of such land.

“This is very important for the preservation of rural areas,” Olga Bashmachnikova, vice-president of the Association of Peasant (Farm) Enterprises and Agricultural Cooperatives of Russia, explained to Parliamentary Gazeta. “It is important that people who create peasant farms, especially beginners, have the opportunity to get land without competing with large holdings.”

“It is clear that a large organization interested in buying up all the land in the territory can offer the best price at auction. Or create a situation where the price will rise on purpose. All this creates barriers for the development of farms,” the expert added.

In addition, the holding may abandon the land if the market situation becomes unfavorable, and the farmer lives on the land and will not leave, Bashmachnikova assured.

“And if it develops in terms of profitability, then it will build roads at its own expense, repair churches, and build schools. In fact, the farmer is a key figure in the village,” she concluded.

The adoption of the bill will make agricultural land more accessible, allowing to increase the area under crops and the volume of products produced by the agricultural sector, said Alexei Mayorov, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian Food Policy and Nature Management.

“The document is timely and, one might even say, long-awaited. It should have been submitted earlier. If we simplify the procedure, then, accordingly, more land will be used for its intended purpose, ”the senator is sure.

The government measure will be reinforced by the previously created mechanism, designed to preserve the lands, "grabbed by and large outside the law," said Vladimir Kashin, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues.

“Illegal, because farmland, according to the Land Code, must be used for the production of agricultural products. And today they are overgrown with weeds, they are the fuse of fires. In addition, these 37 million hectares withdrawn from agricultural circulation do not produce the equivalent of one hundred million tons of grain,” the deputy specified.

The parliamentarian is sure that the correction of the procedure for the seizure of agricultural land from negligent owners will make it possible to correct everything.

“Before, the Rosselkhoznadzor came and recorded that the land was not used for a year or two, and on the third they came, and there another owner was a son or brother. Therefore, we agree that there is no need to wait three years, when it is obvious that the field has not been used for fifteen years, as it is overgrown with birch trees,” Vladimir Kashin explained.

Now, according to the deputy, although it has become easier to return land to circulation, the danger of such land falling into the hands of other unscrupulous users has remained.

“Therefore, now it is extremely important to give freedom to small and medium-sized businesses, so that those who live in villages, and not in Paris, are the owners of the land along with the peasants who live nearby,” Kashin said, adding that the State Duma intends to promptly adopt the submitted bill. .