The winners of the Agroinvestor of the Year 2023 award have been announced

Among the finalists in 2023 are 18 enterprises from the agro-industrial complex and related sectors: traditionally, these include systemically important companies and small farms. Regardless of scale and income, all winners are united by the desire for further development for the benefit of the country’s agriculture and providing this most important industry with everything necessary. The expert council of the award and the editorial board of Agroinvestor express gratitude to all participants for the presented practices, projects and achievements and congratulate the winners.

“For two years now, agricultural producers and other participants in the agricultural market have been working in difficult conditions: they have to put up with sanctions, various export restrictions and government regulation of markets. But this does not stop them, they continue to develop, invest in new directions, release interesting products, and implement important social projects.

The rules of our awards are that one winner must be selected in each category. Our jury has a very difficult time, because every project deserves this victory. We thank everyone who applied for participation, and, of course, we congratulate the winners once again - your achievements are of great importance for the industry, for the food security of our country!” said Inna Ganenko, editor-in-chief of Agroinvestor magazine.

Winners in ten categories in 2023

MAN OF THE YEAR is a person from the sphere of business, government, scientific or social environment, with whom changes, innovations, and key events in the agricultural industry in 2023 are associated. The candidates in this category were proposed by the Expert Council, and the winner was determined through open online voting on the award website.

The winner is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agro-Belogorye Group of Companies Vladimir Fedorovich Zotov. 

For the sustainable development of agribusiness in the border area and the company’s active social work. The award was presented to the winner by Dmitry Yuryevich Aveltsov, head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Agroanalytics Center” of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture.

TOP MANAGER OF THE YEAR - owner or top manager, under whose leadership the company or peasant (farm) enterprise achieved a significant improvement in financial and production performance in 2023. There are three categories in the nomination, with one winner awarded in each category.

Agricultural holding / large production company

The winner is Pavel Pavlovich Tsarev, General Director of the AgroGard holding. 

Despite the fact that last year prices for agricultural products decreased, the level of revenue from the core activities of the AgroGard holding remained at its peak, and the increase compared to the five-year average was 7%. The holding's competent management system made it possible to increase profits during the production cycle by 80%.

Medium business

The winner is the managing partner of the breeding and seed company RUSEED Gekht Mark Andreevich.

The company's revenue growth rate in 2023 was almost 300%. Rusid, together with the Russian Selection company, is implementing a project to build a full-cycle sunflower seed production plant with a capacity of 3 thousand tons per year in the Republic of Adygea.

Peasant farming

The winner is an individual entrepreneur, the head of a peasant (farm) enterprise, Alexander Borisovich Levkin.

In 2023, the revenue of the enterprise, which specializes in dairy farming, increased by 31%. Last year, the peasant farm acquired two milk tankers, which helped reduce dependence on milk processing enterprises.

LAUNCH OF THE YEAR - completed construction or modernization of an enterprise, including the launch of a fundamentally new production, service or finished product for the agricultural sector in 2023. There are three categories in the nomination, with one winner awarded in each category.

Introduction of technologies that increase production productivity

The winner is KOBLiK GROUP. 

A full line of machines for seed production has been developed and launched on the market.

New production

The winner is the breeding and seed production company Agroplasma LLC.

Launching our own full-cycle seed plant.

Services for agro-industrial complex

The winner is the EkoNiva Group of Companies. 

Launch of stock exchange commodity auctions for the sale of milk and dairy products.

INNOVATION OF THE YEAR - a new or improved technology used in production and representing a unique solution for the industry, as well as innovative products for agricultural companies, including those that replace imported analogues. There are three categories in the nomination, with one winner awarded in each category.

Innovative products

The winner is the breeding and seed production company Agroplasma LLC. 

Selection of domestic waxy corn hybrids.

Innovative equipment and technologies

The winner is Adaptive Innovative Intelligent Technologies LLC.

Adaptive energy-independent intelligent multiplex system for express analysis of soil chemical composition.

Innovative software products for agriculture

The winner is KormoResurs. 

Development of a program for compiling and optimizing feeding rations “Food Optima” for all types of farm animals.

EXPORTER OF THE YEAR - a company that entered new export markets or significantly increased the volume of product supplies abroad in 2023, or provided unique products or services to ensure exports. 

Crop products

The winner is NewBio LLC. 

In 2023, the company exported 22.7 thousand tons of highly processed grain products worth RUB 825 million. The share of exports is more than 15% of total sales.

Products and services for exporters

The winner is Europack Group of Companies.

The company is developing export services of multimodal container transportation. In 2023, the company sent 450 accelerated container trains for export, 76% more than in 2022; the number of trains sent directly to China has more than doubled. Including more than 1 million tons of vegetable oils were sent to foreign markets. The service provides more than 46% of the export of vegetable oils from Russia to China.

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INITIATIVE - company initiatives based on the principles of social responsibility, aimed at improving the social environment and infrastructure or reducing the negative impact on the environment, as well as educational initiatives in the agricultural sector. There are three categories in the nomination, with one winner awarded in each category.

Improving the social environment and infrastructure in the regions

The winner is the Cherkizovo group. 

In 2023, the Cherkizovo Group and the Smenka social movement implemented the first stage of a project to renovate school canteens. Two canteens in the Penza region and one in the Altai Territory received a modern look, and schoolchildren had the opportunity to dine in comfortable premises.

Ecology

The winner is the Steppe agricultural holding.

The Steppe agricultural holding, at its own expense, planted 96.9 hectares of protective forest belts on agricultural lands in the Rostov region. Shelter belt systems help solve the issue of stabilizing agricultural production and increasing fertility; help in the fight against water and wind erosion.

Education in the field of agriculture

The winner is RostAgro Group of Companies.

The management company "RostAgro" and the "Center for Technological Training" of the city of Penza entered into an agreement on cooperation in the field of educational activities. The subject of the agreement is cooperation in the field of educational activities for the implementation of career guidance, pre-profile and innovative activities in the agricultural sector. 

RELIABLE GRAIN SUPPLIER - a company that has established itself as a reliable supplier of grain to the domestic market, retaining regular customers in 2023 and expanding the circle of buyers.

The winner is TrustAgro-Niva 1 LLC (RostAgro Management Company). 

Last season, the company supplied 117.3 thousand tons of grain, about 85% of this volume came from regular customers.

PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR - agricultural products launched on the market in 2023. 

"Green" products

The winner is the retail chain Magnit. 

In 2023, the company began producing organic mushrooms.

Import substitution

The winner is the peasant (farm) farm of Oleg Aleksandrovich Zholobenko, project “Asparagus of the Black Earth Region”.

The company is the only one in the Black Earth Region and the leader in Russia in terms of asparagus harvesting volume, as well as the only one in the country that grows all types of asparagus.

Best New Brand

The winner is Dubrava (CBS Commodities).

Launch of a new brand “Village Product” in the poultry category in the high-price segment.

Editor's choice: "COMPANY - NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR." 

The winner in this nomination is the company representing the agro-industrial complex, which was most often written about in the magazine and on the Agroinvestor website in 2023. Among the main selection criteria are the company’s openness for communication and the availability of top managers, the quality of interaction, the work of the press service, and the informativeness of the website. 

The winner is the Cherkizovo Group of Companies.

Editor's choice: "COVERAGE OF THE WORK OF THE REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY AT THE OFFICIAL LEVEL." 

This category assessed the quality and effectiveness of information activities of regional administrations and agricultural departments in covering the work of the agro-industrial complex. Among the main nomination criteria are the structure, content of sites with news, their relevance, regularity of publications, presence in social networks, etc.

The winner is the Department of Agriculture and Food Resources of the Vologda Region. 

The exclusive methodology for the Agroinvestor of the Year award was developed by the award’s intellectual partner, the Trust Technologies company. As an independent observer and professional auditor, Technologies of Trust ensures the objectivity of voting and compliance of the process of selecting nominees with the established methodology.

A permanent partner of the Agroinvestor of the Year award is Demetra-Holding.

The general information partner of the Agroinvestor of the Year award is the federal diversified communications holding 1MI.