Before the start of the meeting, deputies led by Volodin inspected samples of new Russian agricultural machinery.
Photo: Edward CHESNOKOV. Go to Photobank KP
On October 10, President Vyacheslav Volodin held a visiting meeting of the Duma Council on the development of agricultural machinery in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow. Now we are in the middle of the harvest and then the sowing, where we cannot do without technology. But there are many problems here that the deputies brought to the Council.
“According to my data, 60% of our tractors and about 40% of combines have expired,” Volodin shared the statistics as he opened the meeting.
Currently in Russia there are 115 companies dedicated to the production of agricultural machinery. In 2022, the West stopped supplying us with many important components for agricultural machinery (motors, bearings), while shedding crocodile tears over the “threat of world hunger.”
Fortunately, this was not a disaster: Russia had already engaged in import substitution in a strategic industry.
— In 1999, Rostselmash produced only 3 types of equipment, now there are about 150 different modifications. An ancient harvesting plant has been recovered in Taganrog! — said Konstantin Babkin, chairman of the board of directors of the Russian Association of Manufacturers of Agricultural Machinery and Equipment. — We have opened specialized classes in 117 educational institutions and are preparing future production workers.
But there are many problems. For example, competitive pressure on prices (the notorious dumping) by foreign companies, including eastern partners. Their production scale is larger, “credit money” is more accessible to them, which is why they are conquering new markets like ours.
“During the first eight months, the production of agricultural machinery in the Russian Federation decreased,” said Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Anton Alikhanov. — A long-term solution will be a preferential leasing system in the agricultural engineering sector. With the help of this mechanism, in the next three years it is planned to raise about 100 billion rubles for the purchase of agricultural equipment.
But you can’t buy just anything. Volodin drew attention to the fact that for one type of agricultural technology we guarantee 100% domestic production of only… exhaust pipes. And many other tractor parts (harvesters, seeders, waterers…) are still imported.
“We occupy only 30% in the production of transmissions, 50% in hydraulic motors for pumps and 40% in planetary hydraulic motors,” Vyacheslav Viktorovich cited statistics.
On this basis, Volodin demanded not to spend budget money on the purchase of foreign agricultural machinery and its parts, but to develop Russian analogues.
Well, and most importantly, according to the chairman of the Duma, by replacing imported equipment with our own, domestic, we must remain on the world market. We must export not only cereals, but also agricultural machinery!
— The days when agriculture was called a “black hole” are over! – Volodin emphasized. —The recent achievements in agriculture are beyond doubt. The president set a goal of growing by a quarter by 2030. Agricultural exports should increase by one and a half times. Therefore, while we solve the problems of legislative support for the President’s speech, we must do everything possible on our part to create conditions for the development of agricultural engineering in our country.
