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While the problem of the shortage of breeding animals has not been resolved, legislators want to introduce requirements for their import.

In order to import breeding chickens or eggs into Russia, it is necessary to confirm their value for the production of especially valuable breeds. And if you import the semen of a bull or a cow embryo, you can also conduct a molecular genetic examination of the materials. Such a draft law (No. 194262-8) was submitted to the State Duma on March 21 by State Duma Vice Speaker Alexei Gordeev, Chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Issues Vladimir Kashin and other deputies. The parliamentarians also proposed legislatively (No. 319193-8) to restrict the import of foreign seeds - they will be allowed through only if Russian scientists give the go-ahead. How things are with their own breeding animals and seeds, and whether the proposed rules will affect the prices in stores, the Parliamentary Newspaper understood.

The seed of frail bulls will not be accepted

Russian livestock breeding, which makes it possible not only to obtain a new generation of livestock and poultry in order to sell it, but to preserve reference samples of breeds and improve their productive qualities, is highly dependent on imports. This is especially noticeable in the poultry industry - about 90 percent of the breeding material is imported from abroad, the authors of the bill estimated. With breeding cows, things are better. The country annually sells 95-100 thousand heads of young animals, which are bred in Russia, and 37-50 thousand heads are imported from other countries. 93 percent of imports are animals of the scarce Holstein breed, which is valued for its high milk yields. For a minute, such cows give at least 2.5 liters of milk. In 2021, 50.8 thousand such cows were brought.

There are also prospects to reduce dependence on imports. The chief expert on selection and breeding work of the Russian Poultry Union, Lyudmila Karpenko, said that mainly hatching eggs are imported to Russia for the production of broiler meat - they can be transported in cars of 28-90 thousand, while chickens in large volumes cannot be delivered - they need a special microclimate. And chickens are brought in when chickens or cockerels of a certain “line” are needed.

But Russia has its own breeding chickens. The problem is that they take five to seven years to produce. First, work is underway in the breeding and genetic center, then the grandparent flock is bred, then the parent flock, which lays eggs for broiler poultry farms and poultry farms that produce food eggs. So, in 2016-2017, they began to create a new cross, that is, a hybrid obtained by crossing breeds or lines, and approved it in 2021. He received the name "Change-9". “If there are unforeseen political circumstances, imports will stop, it will be practically the main cross for the production of broiler meat,” the expert said. There are also crosses of egg chickens, but they are used much less. If necessary, the volume can be increased. But the “Bush legs”, as in the 90s, will not have to be imported, Karpenko believes.

The head of the Duma Agrarian Committee, Vladimir Kashin, told Parliamentary Gazeta that money has already been allocated for the construction of factories for the production of Smena-9 broilers, the construction itself is underway. “We recently held hearings on the implementation of the scientific and technical program. We are moving forward with the implementation of the plan, with such a step as to close the problem,” the deputy said.

But it is impossible to completely refuse imports, and it is not necessary - the right to purchase foreign genetic products gives breeding farms the opportunity to choose among all world producers, which increases the likelihood of selecting the highest quality material, but it is necessary to establish requirements for imported material, the authors of the bill believe.

The document clarifies that it is possible to import animals, eggs, semen and other breeding products from all countries, except for the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, only if its breeding value is confirmed in accordance with the rules of the Ministry of Agriculture and there is a permit issued by the State breeding service. And in order to import semen and embryos of breeding animals and use them in Russia, you will need not only an import permit, but also the results of a molecular genetic examination of products.

Only accredited organizations and individual entrepreneurs will be able to conduct it according to the rules approved by the State Breeding Service. And to pay - the entrepreneurs who applied for permission to import. According to the calculations of the deputies, this should not be particularly expensive - a genetic analysis of one animal costs about 4 thousand rubles. For example, if an organization orders 1.5 million doses of semen from 60 breeding bulls, it will need to conduct a genetic examination in Russia for 240,000 rubles. And given that the semen is purchased for about $1.50 per dose and sold for $6-8, the additional cost would not be significant and should not affect the final cost of the animals.

But it should have a serious effect, says Kashin. He explained that molecular genetic examination allows checking parental characteristics, productivity, and avoiding the importation of diseases. He added that it was already written in the law that only special stations that have equipment and specialists can deal with the insemination of bulls and the implantation of embryos of breeding stock, but there were no criteria for the materials themselves - it is this gap that the new law will eliminate.

The main thing is not to move towards facilitating the use of imported bull semen in livestock breeding, says Yury Korneenko-Zhilyaev, director of the National Union of breeding organizations. According to him, this can damage not only the Russian producers themselves, but also the food security of Russia.

The expert is confident that organizations for artificial insemination of farm animals, with proper support from the state, are able to cope on their own. Now they are already producing 7.3 million doses of semen from sires. But the percentage of imported seed from Western countries, despite the presence of genetically not inferior in quality to domestic, is constantly growing. More than 40 organizations import 4.5-4.8 million doses.

“And the seed produced in Russia, due to the mass of restrictions, prohibitions, and sometimes without good reasons and explanations, cannot be exported to Western countries,” said Korneenko-Zhilyaev. So the right way, in his opinion, is import substitution.

In order not to get a pumpkin

There are questions about how to promote domestic seed production. While the fields are actively sown with imported seeds. In 2020, the president set the goal of providing the country with 75 percent of the seeds of domestic selection by 2030. In the meantime, this figure is 60.3 percent, which is even 4.9 points less than in 2020.

Therefore, the deputies developed a draft law on domestic seed production. Let's start with the concept itself. Selection will be considered a complex work from the creation of a variety or hybrid of an agricultural plant to its sale or use. The priority of state support in this area will be given not to importers, but to Russian companies and people who have developed varieties and hybrids of seeds that can be reproduced without resorting to imports. And it will be possible to import seeds of agricultural plants only if they have been given an opinion by a scientific organization that is on the list of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In addition, the Government will be given the authority to approve the procedure for establishing seed production zones in order to avoid crop losses when varieties begin to be used in places that are clearly not suitable for this. For example, last winter in the North Caucasus region, winter grains were severely frozen. In the competitive test, out of 99 varieties of winter wheat, 16 varieties completely died out, 38 varieties - half, 21 varieties - by 30 percent, 12 varieties - up to 10 percent, and only 12 varieties showed resistance to frost. Therefore, it is necessary to create zones with the most favorable conditions specifically for the production of seeds of agricultural plants, the authors believe.

The use of isolation barriers will also be adjusted to avoid cross-pollination of plants. As an example of an unpredictable result, one can cite what is obtained as a result of the pollination of pumpkins and zucchini. Something in between grows, which can be called a "pumpkin" or "kabatykva".