58 participants from 9 regions took part in training on organic pumpkin production in Primorsky Krai

Distances for organics are not a barrier. Farmers and representatives of science from many regions came to Primorsky Krai to adopt best practices. After all, a unique partnership has developed here - the organic producer of peasant farms A.I. Grishko, Primorsky State Agricultural Academy, Far Eastern Organic Union, certification body of the Primorsky branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Rosselkhoztsentr, Primorsky EM Center. It is this synergy that the Union of Organic Farming has shown. On the basis of KFH A.I. On August 26-27, Grishko passed a free training in the production of organic pumpkin.

Practical training was held within the framework of the project “Organic agriculture – new opportunities. The System and Practices of Responsible Land Use, Sustainable Development of Rural Territories” using a grant from the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society provided by the Presidential Grants Fund.

“Many years ago, having visited China and seeing with my own eyes a huge amount of chemical fertilizers that they use to grow vegetables supplied to Russia, I made a decision for myself to grow only natural and environmentally friendly vegetables - a borscht set, which will, first of all, are intended for my compatriots, for the inhabitants of the region,” says Grishko Alexander Ivanovich, head of the Grishko Farm.

But in the future, the proximity of Japan and climatic conditions played an important role in the choice of cultivated crops on the farm, and supplies have already begun to be exported to Japan, where pumpkin is very valuable and organic is required. The Japanese market is already ready to buy such a product and at a different price, they understand the value of our living soil. All this inspired the farmer Alexander Ivanovich Grishko to become certified according to the Japanese organic standard JAS. After all, its vegetable products are grown without the use of agrochemicals, pesticides and GMOs, which means they are good for health. For many years now, such a pumpkin has been bought by the Japanese, who are famous for their longevity and attentive attitude to healthy eating. The experience is unique for Russia, the prospects are good, and pumpkin, as an agricultural crop, has proven itself in organic production.

“I really wanted to share this with the participants of the training, who came from different parts of our country. It is important that this topic has become of concern to more and more farmers. They ask, they are interested - how to grow, which varieties are better, how to certify and how to export. Practical training is an important point, here you can clarify all the nuances that can be simply missed in ordinary lectures. Therefore, I tried very hard to tell everything in detail so that more and more farmers in Russia switch to organic, understand that this is possible, not as expensive and not as scary as it seems at first glance, ”Alexander Ivanovich shares.

Kornilov Sergey Sergeevich, "Group Continent", flew to study from Samara. “This training differs from the previous ones primarily in that in Primorye it was possible to see real cooperation between business, science and education. The most important thing is that all participants of the Primorsky Organic Cluster organically and logically coexist with each other. The training provided many new ideas and new perspectives on our daily activities in Samara. At the same time, it is gratifying to see that many thousands of kilometers between us cannot be an obstacle to our joint work and friendship,” Sergey Sergeevich shares his impressions.

As part of the training, the participants visited the forest nursery of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education of the Primorskaya State Agricultural Academy and the Center for the Promotion of Organic Agriculture, where a garden was planted using organic technology for the first time this year.

“The consequences of the intensification of agriculture made everyone think about the soil on which we cultivate cultivated plants, what products we use. Human health is directly dependent on nutrition. That is why organic agriculture is an important and promising area. The opportunity to participate in this event allowed us to declare ourselves as one of the largest agricultural universities in the Far East, which trains highly qualified specialists in this area. The training, organized by the Union of Organic Farming, made it possible to combine science, education and practice, as well as to outline further ways of joint activities, ”says Andrey Eduardovich Komin, rector of the Primorsk State Agricultural Academy.

“For several years now, Rosselkhoztsentr, by providing state services in crop production, has been assisting farmers in Primorsky Krai in new areas of activity. Farmers here are trying to make the most of the geographical position of the region, its natural opportunities. And Rosselkhoztsentr helps them in this. At the same time, we also gain useful knowledge and additional experience. Working in a voluntary certification system, we are additionally mastering the Japanese JAS certification system. We believe that it is useful to find common ground between the two certification systems, thereby helping farmers to work comfortably in both systems. The experience of preparing the seminar and participation in it, of course, enriched the specialists of the Rosselkhozcenter, we slightly adjusted the scheme of work with farms, set new guidelines for themselves, saw their miscalculations. Participation in such seminars gives such an opportunity,” says Galina Fedorovna Bukhanistaya, head of the Rosselkhozcenter branch in Primorsky Krai.

“Organic agriculture is one of the promising areas in Russia. This was also confirmed at the event held in our Far East. The number of people and their areas of activity (science, business, manufacturers) showed that today they are ready to engage in this direction here. We, as the Far Eastern Organic Union, are ready to unite, develop and popularize organic farming in our region. Today, the popularization center is ready to receive and talk about the prospects of organic farming. Our unique location relative to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region is an additional plus for the prospects for the development of organics. Fallow lands are a gold reserve for organic farming. Together, we will provide the country with high-quality products of organic origin and create a healthy nation,”

“Soil fertility, product quality and people's health depend on us. “Primorsky EM-Center LLC, by its philosophy and the type of biological preparations produced, works mainly with farmers who produce organic natural products, understanding all the fundamentals of nature and the degree of influence of product quality on human health, and agrotechnological methods on the level of environmental ecology . The organic farmer has a different mindset, a different approach to the quality of life and conservation of nature for future generations, we speak the same language with them, and we always wanted to see more and more such farmers in Russia with its riches that need to be preserved.

In the Far East with its potential, unfortunately, farmers do not have enough information, support, or associates, therefore, a year ago, being on a similar training of the Union, inspired and expressed wishes to Sergey Aleksandrovich Korshunov about conducting such training for Primorsky farmers, this wish was found support from the Union, and then from the already close-knit cooperation of farmers, the scientific community, certification and export support of Primorsky Krai. The event just showed that such communication and cooperation is extremely important and will give an effective result in the cultivation, certification, and export of organic products. We are grateful to the participants for their interest, and most importantly, for their desire to switch to growing organic products!”, says Ekaterina Evseeva, Primorsky EM Center LLC

“We are opening new and new opportunities for Russian small and medium-sized farmers. The project provides an opportunity to get acquainted with the practice of production and business cooperation. The development of organic agriculture preserves people's health, helps to make healthy, natural products available to the population, and preserves our soil and environment. We see an increase in interest in organic agriculture among producers, and in different regions and in different directions. The general task, of course, is the development of the Russian organic market,” says Sergey Korshunov.

After training and visiting KH A.I. Grishko hosted a tasting of products made from delicious and fragrant organic pumpkin.

The Union of Organic Farming thanks the project partners the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Primorsky Territory, the Federal State Budgetary Institution Rosselkhoztsentr, the Primorsky State Agricultural Academy, and the Primorsky EM Center for their assistance in organizing and implementing the project.