Representatives of the agro-industrial complex of the Yaroslavl region discussed the prospects for growing chicory in the region

At a field meeting in Rostov, representatives of authorities, specialized enterprises and research organizations considered the possibility of growing chicory on the Yaroslavl land.
“At the meeting, it was decided to create a working group that will calculate the economic feasibility and develop technological maps for growing this crop at agricultural enterprises and the Rostov OSC. For the production of raw materials, there is also a need to build a drying complex,” said Valery Kholodov, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Government.
This is a very important task in terms of import substitution, and the region has all the necessary industrial capacities for growing domestic raw chicory in open ground.
DIRECTOR of the Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing Alexei Soldatenko said that the technology for growing, cultivating and creating new highly productive varieties of this crop in the Yaroslavl Region is being discussed jointly with the Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing and the Rostov Vegetable Experimental Station for chicory.
The first work on the development of industrial chicory in our region has already begun. The Rostov WSC maintains the largest collection in RUSSIA of 32 varieties of chicory, which have already been sown on experimental sites of 2.6 hectares.
Potential enterprises that are considering the possibility of growing chicory in our region were AgroNero LLC, Krasny Mayak LLC, Novy Put CJSC.
The key consumer of local plant raw materials has already been identified. It will be the Aronap coffee and chicory plant in the Rostov region. The enterprise with a century-old history ranks first in Russia in terms of production of instant drinks from chicory, and is also a leader in the production of cocoa drinks and kissels. The production capacity of the plant allows to produce up to 4 thousand tons of finished chicory annually.
“The production of beverages from chicory has been one of the most important cultural components of the Yaroslavl region for over 200 years,” said Sergey Sokolov, the plant's founder. - The drink is known, loved and drunk throughout Russia. It is rich in inulin, which is good for HEALTH.”
The implementation of the project for growing chicory will reduce the cost of finished products and thereby increase the competitiveness of enterprises in the market.