Strawberry harvesting begins in Dagestan

In Dagestan, farmers of 10 municipal districts are engaged in the cultivation of strawberries on a large scale. The first harvesting of this berry began in the Khasavyurt region.
In order to get acquainted with the progress of harvesting, on May 3, the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Dagestan Sharip Sharipov visited the Khasavyurt region, who, accompanied by the head of the Department of Agriculture of the municipality, Idris Zagalov, visited one of the main centers of strawberry cultivation - in the village of Batashyurt.
According to the head of the district agricultural department, strawberries are cultivated on 255 hectares in the Khasavyurt district. The main areas are concentrated in the villages of Solnechnoye, Batashyurt and in a number of other rural municipalities.
We visited the plantations of Batashyurt farmers Baitazi Arslankhanov and Rashid Hamidov, each of whom has almost 6 hectares allocated for growing strawberries. As B. Arslankhanov noted, currently in his native village more than 35 personal subsidiary farms are engaged in the cultivation of strawberries, the total area of ​​strawberry fields reaches 50 hectares.
“Our village has accumulated rich experience in strawberry cultivation. We help each other with advice, annually leave the republic for new experience, adopt one or another advanced agricultural method that allows us to increase productivity. Today we managed to get an early harvest thanks to the use of film shelter structures. This gives us a competitive edge. Strawberries are a labor-intensive crop that requires appropriate attention and care, but with the right attitude, it pays off the investment,” the farmer said.
As First Deputy Minister Sharip Sharipov noted, today in Dagestan strawberries are mainly grown in personal subsidiary plots of the population, where more than 96% of all plantings of this berry are located. Zones of specialization have developed in the republic. These are, first of all, Derbent, Khasavyurt, Kizilyurt, Magaramkent and a number of other districts. Every year the number of regions where this culture is actively developed is expanding. There is a demand for berry products, farmers have the opportunity to engage in a profitable area of ​​agriculture.
This year we have slightly raised the subsidy rate for growing berry crops. However, most representatives of the organized sector have not yet brought their land documents in line with the requirements of land legislation, which deprives them of the opportunity to participate in state support programs. Today, at the federal level, measures are being developed to include state support for personal subsidiary plots in the orbit. Accordingly, at the republican and municipal levels, we are involved in this work, explaining to the owners of household plots the mechanisms and procedures for participating in new forms of state support.
“Dagestan has quite good natural opportunities for the production of strawberries in terms of light and heat supply, which makes it possible to obtain an early harvest. The republic has many sunny days a year, which allows growing strawberries with a high sugar content, Dagestan strawberries are in demand in the markets of our country's cities. At the same time, these days it is not easy for domestic strawberry producers to compete with berries coming from southern countries, the production of which is cheaper for foreign producers due to certain reasons. In this regard, the agrarians of the region ask to consider the possibility of applying to the interested federal structures with the initiative to regulate the import of domestic berry products for the harvest period, which we are studying,” Sharip Sharipov said.