The government instructed the Ministry of Finance to estimate the cost of the food certificate program

However, this does not mean that the discussion on the topic of food aid to the needy is being resumed.

The Cabinet of Ministers instructed the Ministry of Finance to assess the cost of the program of targeted assistance to needy citizens, which the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been developing over the past few years, Izvestia writes, citing a source in the government. This is a technical procedure for interdepartmental interaction, but this does not mean that the discussion of the topic of food aid is being resumed, the press service of the government clarified to the publication. However, the program is supported by the Ministry of Labor and Rospotrebnadzor. According to the project of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, people whose income is less than the regional subsistence minimum should receive their consumer certificate on the card of the Mir payment system. it is assumed that it will receive a fixed amount every month, which can only be spent on domestically produced food. 

The funds received from the implementation of the program will go to the economy, according to the presentation of the program referred to by Izvestia. Thus, with the introduction of certificates, the growth of retail trade turnover and food production will be stimulated. Along the way, the development of related industries is possible, for example, the production of commercial and refrigeration equipment. The volume of support for poor citizens last year could amount to 340 billion rubles, if the program reaches its design capacity, the GDP growth will exceed the amount of funds spent by 1.6-1.9 times. So, if the program had been launched in 2019, GDP growth would have been 0.6%, that is, 540-640 billion rubles, the newspaper writes.

The question of assistance to the population has been raised frequently in recent years. Thus, in mid-February, President Vladimir Putin , at a meeting with the heads of the State Duma factions, noted that the issue of food certificates could be discussed. According to the HEAD of state, this initiative "has pluses, there are also certain problematic issues that need to be resolved." “But you can definitely think about it completely. True, in my opinion, now it may not be as relevant as it was at the height of the epidemic, but nevertheless, you can talk, ”Putin said.

On March 11, during a meeting of the president with representatives of large businesses on the issues of increasing investment activity, the general DIRECTOR of the Cherkizovo Group» Sergei Mikhailov again raised the topic of targeted assistance to the poor, which could solve a number of problems of the state, manufacturers, and the population. “And we believe that this [targeted assistance] will allow us to make another powerful impetus for the development of the agro-industrial complex in the next 5-10 years in creating new jobs and attracting new investments in order to provide our market, and then exports,” Mikhailov told the president. who, in turn, supported him and listed the measures already in place to help the population. “This is what everything is aimed at – to ensure the purchasing power of our citizens and support those who need this support. This is how we will continue to do so, even without any doubt,” Putin concluded (quotes from the transcript of the meeting).

Targeted support for the poorest population is the most effective form of subsidizing agriculture, industry and financial experts have repeatedly noted in conversations with Agroinvestor. In addition, such assistance can be an effective response to rising food prices, as opposed to direct regulation and maximum selling prices. For example, Andrei Sizov, director of the SovEcon analytical center, drew attention to the fact that now is the time to organize support for the poor. “Yes, this is a more global issue, but it is quite realistic to find about 100 billion rubles for this,” he said. 

In what form the implementation of the food aid program will be carried out - whether it will be a system of food cards, transfer of funds for the purchase of food, or free meals - is of no fundamental importance, said Margarita Brazhevskaya, deputy head of the National MEAT Association. The most important thing is to achieve the ultimate goal - ensuring the availability of food for the low-income population in the required volumes. This will be a more fair and economically correct approach than artificially lowering prices for everyone, including well-to-do people.

The Russians no longer have enough money for food

However, there is also the question of what criteria should be used to select people who will be able to receive assistance. Thus, at the end of February, it was proposed to extend the program to recipients of housing subsidies. With such a selection of families, support will be more effective than if assistance is paid to everyone in a row according to some demographic criteria, said then the head of the Center for Economic Forecasting of Gazprombank Daria Snitko. In addition, a register of such families already exists. Among the disadvantages of this approach, Snitko noted that the payments will fall on the family, and not on one person, which distorts the effect of the measure, since the target households can be different in size.