Sheep breeding industry is the most depressive in terms of selling its products - Dzhambulat Khatuov

The government and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation will introduce additional measures of state support for the stable development of the sheep breeding industry in the country, said First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Dzhambulat Khatuov.

“Today, the government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation are ready to additionally seek state support measures in order to have a stable sheep breeding industry,” Khatuov said at the Russian exhibition of breeding sheep and goats, which takes place in Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol Territory.

Among the most important tasks of the industry, the Deputy Minister named overcoming barriers to promoting sheep products in the domestic and foreign markets, entering into a long-term and high-quality partnership with the light industry and increasing the profitability of the industry.

— The sheep breeding industry needs a systematic approach to improve the promotion of products on domestic markets. And it is the sheep breeding industry that today is the most depressive in terms of selling its products in all markets. Our strategic goal is to have a reliable forage base. Therefore, for such regions as Kalmykia, Dagestan, part of the Stavropol Territory, measures related to the creation of a forage base are fundamentally important.

He noted the need to improve breeding and genetic work in the industry, because the current volume of production of high-quality sheep wool does not suit the authorities.

As Dmitry Butusov, DIRECTOR of the Department of Livestock Husbandry and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, said at the exhibition, sheep breeding is the leading and socially significant sub-sector in the Southern and North Caucasian federal districts, it determines the rural way of life for many regions.

According to him, in 2015-2020. the number of sheep and goats in farms of all categories decreased by 12% or 2.95 million compared to 2015. In 2020, it amounted to 21.65 million heads, having decreased in agricultural organizations by 25.5%, in households - by 12.8%, in peasant farms (IP) - by 4.2%.

However, the current livestock accounting system does not yet allow to have a complete detailed picture of the quantitative and qualitative composition of animals.