Dmitry Patrushev: the key task is to complete harvesting without crop losses

The course of harvesting in Russia was discussed today at the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia. The meeting with the participation of the heads of regional authorities of the agro-industrial complex was held by the Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev.

He noted that due to adverse weather conditions, the harvesting in 2021 is being held in a busy mode. The most difficult situation is recorded in the Volga and Central federal districts, where harvest rates are comparable to last year, but the volume of grain decreased by 27% and 40%, respectively.

In general, at the moment, the main agricultural crops have been harvested from 75% of the area, including grains that have been threshed from 87% of the area. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture called on the regions to clean up the remaining areas without loss and fulfill the established plans.

Separately, Dmitry Patrushev dwelled on the collection of oilseeds, noting that due to difficult weather conditions, the pace of harvesting and the yield of sunflower and soybeans are still lower than last year. Climatic factors adversely affect the production of potatoes. Due to the late spring, agrarians carried out sowing in a short time, after which a dry summer began in the main potato-growing regions of the Volga region, Central Russia and the Urals.

The sowing of winter crops was also discussed at the meeting. Currently, the main work is being carried out in the Southern, North Caucasian and Central federal districts. About 11 million hectares have been sown, and the key challenges at the moment are also related to the weather. According to the forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture, about 19.5 million hectares will be sown this year.

Summing up the results of the meeting, Dmitry Patrushev once again emphasized the need to complete the harvesting work in the regions without allowing crop losses. In addition, it is important to sow winter crops strictly at the optimal time, paying special attention to the provision of farmers with seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products, as well as scientific support for this work.