South Ural will grow more durum wheat

The area sown with durum wheat in the Chelyabinsk region in 2022 will expand to 169,000 hectares. Under favorable climatic conditions, farmers will harvest from 210 to 230 thousand tons of this valuable crop, which is used to make high-quality pasta and some types of cereals. This was reported by the Minister of Agriculture of the Chelyabinsk Region Alexei Kobylin at a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of RUSSIA Andrey Razin.

The regions of the country where hard wheat (durum) is grown took part in the video conference meeting. During the event, Andrei Razin, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, emphasized that Russian farmers are faced with the task of increasing the harvest of durum wheat to one and a half million tons in the coming years. For this, additional measures of state support for durum producers will be considered. About how difficult it is to grow durum wheat, it became clear from the report of the DIRECTOR of the Department of Crop Production, Mechanization, Chemicalization and Plant Protection of the Federal Department Roman Nekrasov. The culture requires a large number of sunny days, while the yield depends not only on the amount of moisture received, but also on the correct cultivation technology and the competent use of fertilizers.

In the Chelyabinsk region, which ranks second among the leading regions in the production of durum wheat, there is a large producer of pasta that uses this crop as a raw material - Makfa JSC, and as Anton Belousov, the company's manager, said, the company purchases raw materials not only inside region, but also in the Orenburg region, as well as from manufacturers in the Siberian Federal District. The question today is indeed to grow more quality durum, which is in great demand in the food and processing industry.

- In the Chelyabinsk region, as in the Orenburg region, there was a drought in 2021. Therefore, the wheat yield was at the level of 8 centners per hectare. At the same time, in 2021 we increased the area under the cultivation of durum wheat by more than 11,000 hectares, and we plan to increase it by 30,000 hectares in 2022, as a result, the area should be at least 169,000 hectares. We plan to collect 200-210 thousand tons, - said Alexey Kobylin. — The internal demand for durum wheat among Chelyabinsk processors is much higher than we produce, and it is difficult to solve this problem only through regional support. But, given that we are interested in further increasing the production of this high-margin crop, we are ready to provide regional co-financing, subject to a positive decision on the issue of federal support.

We have about 18 varieties of durum wheat, there is a new variety that is currently being tested, it has shown itself to be equal to the best registered variety - the Bezenchuk steppe. We are provided with a surplus of durum wheat seeds for the upcoming sowing campaign: 28.5 thousand tons are required, 36.5 thousand tons are available.

Press Center of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Chelyabinsk Region