Mikhail Mishustin called the level of food safety in Russia one of the most reliable in the world

“We saw that [after the strengthening of sanctions] people were most worried that food would disappear from the shelves. Many still remember how it was more than 30 years ago. But our farmers did not disappoint,” Mishustin said. The growth dynamics of agricultural production in RUSSIA has exceeded 10%, recalled the HEAD of the Cabinet. The grain harvest in 2022 amounted to a record 157 million tons. There are new records for the gross harvest of oilseeds, and an increase in MEAT, potatoes, greenhouse vegetables, and fruits is visible. The industry continues to develop, expanding its own production base in key areas. According to the results of last year, about 450 thousand hectares of land were returned to agricultural circulation, Mishustin said.

According to him, this is the result of systemic state support for the agro-industrial complex, which last year exceeded 420 billion rubles. “This approach has allowed to expand funding for rural areas in order to improve the quality of life of people on the ground. New housing was being built, roads were being built, landscaping work was underway, ”Mishustin listed. He also noted that the government will work out further measures to support domestic farmers, in connection with which the State Duma deputies can submit their proposals on this issue. In addition, he said that the government is interested in supporting exporters of products to friendly countries. 

Georgy Ostapkovich, DIRECTOR of the HSE Center for Market Research, said that it is difficult to assess the level of reliability of food security in countries: there are no such ratings in the world. However, he noted that he generally agrees with Mishustin's statement. “We have had no problems with food in recent years. We have sufficient localization of the production of basic products. There are a number of products for which we have import dependence, but friendly countries can help us here,” Ostapkovich believes.

At the same time, our country has problems with the supply of genetic material from unfriendly states, he recalled. In particular, Russia imports 95% of SUGAR beet seeds, 80-85% of potatoes, crosses of chickens, inseminating bulls, and so on. 

In January, the Minister of Agriculture, Dmitry Patrushev, noted that the situation with the provision of seeds in Russia is extremely difficult until the Food Security Doctrine indicator of 75% is reached. Last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, the share of domestic seeds in the Russian market reached 60%. At the same time, the indicators for seed selection of a number of agricultural crops, including sugar beets and potatoes, are extremely low. Thus, the share of domestic seeds of sugar beets was estimated at 1.8%, potatoes - about 7%.