Tiraspol, October, 22. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. At a meeting of the Government, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economic Development Sergey Obolonik presented a program for the development of the land-reclamation complex of the republic for 2021-2026.
The program includes an action plan for repair and restoration work of land-reclamation complex facilities. The source of financing will be the funds of the target fee, applying from January 1 of the next year. The budget of the program was 66 million rubles, which is a multiple of the amount of the source, which will be formed annually in the amount of 11 million rubles, the Government press service reported. The schedule of carrying out the repair and construction works is painted for years and includes both head pumping stations and smaller units.
The main topic of discussion is the expected effect from the program implementation. According to the specialists` calculations, the increase in irrigated land in 6 years will be 11.9 thousand hectares and by 2026 it will reach 29.8 thousand hectares. At the moment, almost 18 thousand hectares are irrigated.
As Sergey Obolonik noted, the infrastructure of the irrigation system was in a deplorable state, therefore, preventing the disposal of irrigated areas is also of enormous importance for the industry as a whole. According to the results of the program implementation, this figure will be about 12.5 thousand hectares. It will be possible not only to expand the area of irrigation, but also to maintain irrigation on the lands where cereals are grown for baking bread, according to the Government website. Today it is about 6 thousand hectares.
The current structure of land use has been determined by types of agricultural products grown on it. The main export potential is formed by grains, corn and sunflower seeds. Experts say that after the launch of the program for sunflower, vegetables and forage crops, the yield will double.
Taking into account the expansion of irrigated areas, an increase in productivity is expected for all types of crops, and therefore in the volume of gross harvest. For various crops, it will grow from 16 thousand tons to 48 thousand tons over the entire period of the program.
“In terms of grains, the entire increase will be spent on increasing the export potential, since the domestic demand is completely covered,” Sergey Obolonik explained.
According to preliminary calculations, the increase in export earnings will amount to $ 23 million for the period 2021-2026. The average annual rate is expected at $ 3.8 million. All this will allow covering 31% of the current-account deficit, which will reduce the risk of national currency devaluation.
The strategic purpose of the land-reclamation development program is to ensure food security. The key role here is played by the production of products for which there is a shortage at the moment.
The lack of domestic demand for vegetables is now 33 thousand tons. The implementation of the program will increase the yield of vegetables by 10.7 thousand tons, that is, 32% of the deficit will be additionally covered.
The increase in irrigated areas for fodder crops will allow to increase 595 head of cattle, and therefore 2 thousand tons of milk, which will cover the existing deficit by another 6%. Together with the subsidy program for 1 ruble per liter of milk and the purchase of heifers in the livestock sector, a significant step forward will be made. At the same time, the republic's need for beef will be fully covered.
The Government noted that the social effect would also be noticeable. By 2026, 400 new jobs will be created in domestic agriculture.
Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the UIFEP were involved in the development of this program. As a result, the opinions of all participants in the process were taken into account.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister drew attention to the fact that next year it was planned to allocate about 20 million rubles to cover the inter-tariff difference to support farmers.
“Payment for irrigation is assumed not at cost price, but at a level lower than actual costs. The State, on the one hand, plans to invest in the repair of pumping stations, and on the other hand, it will continue to support farmers. The budget of this program, in fact, will consist of two amounts: 20 million rubles being the inter-tariff difference and 12 million - for the restoration of land-reclamation. More than 30 million rubles is a serious amount,” Prime Minister Alexander Martynov said.
Regarding the future, the Prime Minister noted the need to revise the principles of financing the inter-tariff difference.
“In the future, we will make a decision on how to finance the inter-tariff difference. Comparing it with farmers` financial results, obviously,” he said.
The development program for the land-reclamation complex was unanimously supported by all the participants in the Government session.
