Despite the snow in the fields, island agricultural enterprises will start work in March. Farmers have acquired high-quality seeds thanks to the support measures of the Sakhalin government. This year it is planned to sow no less than last year – about 2000 hectares of potatoes and 600 hectares of open-ground vegetables. This is enough to provide the inhabitants of the island region with fresh locally produced products.
According to the government of the Sakhalin region, a small sowing campaign will begin in March with cabbage seeds and will last until May. Each farm has developed a special sowing schedule in accordance with the maturation dates – from white to colored, kohlrabi, red and other types. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants will also be planted. Seeds for sowing in greenhouses for seedlings have already been purchased in full.
The start of spring field work is scheduled for the first or second decade of May, depending on weather conditions.
– Now agricultural producers have started the bulkhead of potato seeds laid for storage last year. In total, 7.2 thousand tons will have to be prepared. Farmers also plan to purchase more than 500 tons of elite potato seeds for the purpose of variety renewal and variety exchange. We actively support them in this. Seed potatoes need to be updated periodically, as their long-term cultivation leads to a decrease in yield and quality of tubers. Therefore, we subsidize up to 70 percent of the cost of purchasing seeds, taking into account delivery to the region,” said Ekaterina Slivkina, head of the crop production Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Trade of the Sakhalin Region.
Seeds are purchased only of Russian production. Providing farmers with them is one of the priorities of state policy in the field of agriculture. In the island region, as in the whole country, systematic work is underway to develop breeding and seed production of the main crops.
Interaction is built in constant contact between the authorities, science and agricultural producers. Thus, the regional government, within the framework of the regional state program for the development of agriculture, doubled funding for the implementation of measures for scientific support of agricultural production.
In addition, today, on the basis of SAKHNIISKH, scientists in close cooperation with island farmers are resuming the technology of growing potato seed material of domestic varieties on a virus-free basis. The plans for this year are to grow a test tube culture of micro–plants and mini-tubers, from which field generations of potato seeds of high reproductions will be obtained.
Since January 1, a federal project has been launched in Russia aimed at developing the production of potatoes, as well as vegetables of indoor and outdoor soil. In the Sakhalin region this year, on the terms of co-financing with the federal budget, the volume of support for island farmers in this area will amount to more than 23 million rubles, while the amount of funds from the regional budget will amount to more than 17 million rubles.
“Today, the Sakhalin Region retains a leading position among the Far Eastern regions in terms of self-sufficiency in vegetables. Today, the island region provides itself with them by 66 percent. The main volume of production of local agricultural enterprises and farmers is open-ground vegetables. Also, thanks to greenhouse complexes, today residents of the region are provided with protected ground vegetables all year round, primarily tomatoes and cucumbers,” the island government notes.
A source: https://astv.ru
