Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs invited the government to support manufacturers of alternative products

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has prepared proposals to the government on the development of the market for modern agricultural and food technologies in Russia. In particular, the union proposed to provide preferential loans to projects for the development and production of alternative food products (created from insect protein or vegetable proteins), to compensate them for capital costs, and to subsidize their expenses for the purchase of equipment. This was reported by the press service of the union.

RSPP also asks to simplify the certification procedure for alternative food products and their producers. According to the organization, existing digital solutions will make it possible to verify the quality of plant products with minimal human involvement and without manual data entry. In addition, it is proposed to introduce the concept of alternative food products, as well as standards for their production, labeling and sale, into the legal framework.

According to Igor Vdovin, Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Chairman of the Committee on Investment Policy, Development Institutions and Export Support, in the first nine months of this year, the volume of investments in high-tech venture projects in the United States reached $239 billion. At the same time, in Russia, the amount of investment in three years did not exceed $300 million “Our country has all the conditions for the development of technologies and an economic breakthrough, but there is not enough state support. It is necessary to ensure that advanced technologies receive their recognition and interest from the government,” Vdovin said.

The RSPP also believes that in the Russian food industry it is necessary to expand state support for projects using advanced argofoodtech solutions, including deep processing of renewable raw materials and the production of alternative food products. According to the organization, this will help create a new competitive ecosystem. The state is also invited to stimulate the use of biopesticides and fertilizers based on live bacteria.

Vdovin drew attention to the fact that traditional agriculture accounts for about 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. “We can reduce the impact on the environment, we can start consuming less resources, such as land and water, by almost 96-97%. And all this thanks to alternative power sources. Therefore, it is important to make the agrofoodtech agenda relevant for Russia, to attract the attention of investors to it, and to mobilize innovative start-ups,” he said.

Aleksey Ivanov, coordinator of the “We Eat Better” project, said that over the past two years, medium and large companies (Efko, Kotletar, Okraina, Naro-Fominsky meat processing plant). “At the same time, small startups, which initially do not have significant resources, high-quality equipment and a staff of technologists, most often have a harder time. Therefore, state support for this industry can certainly accelerate the process of research, development and launch of innovative alternative products on the market,” Ivanov is sure.

Technologies for making soups, salads, crackers and marmalade from jellyfish are being developed by VNIRO scientists    

Also, in his opinion, support in improving the infrastructure for research and development of alternative products is important. For example, there is great potential for the production of alternatives by fermentation. Ivanov noted that in the first three quarters of 2021, $1.3 billion was invested in this area in the world. “However, in Russia there are still very few suitable industries for this. At the same time, there are already teams in the country that are engaged in research and development of this direction, which is still unfamiliar to us, says Ivanov. “In the case of the production of plant-based alternatives, the situation is better: for example, existing meat processing plants already have many of the components necessary to start producing alternative products.” According to Ivanov, one should not forget about the great export potential of Russian alternative products.