The Plan to Feed All Russians Hinges On Homemade Seeds
- Putin urges home-grown industry to reduce reliance on imports
- Developing hybrid seeds that boost yields can take a decade
Wheat grain is held for display by a worker in this arranged photograph at a storage depot operated by Kubanskaya Korona near Kropotkin in Krasnodar, Russia, on Friday, July 13, 2012. Russia's wheat crop is estimated at 45 million metric tons, with exports at 14 million to 17 million tons, Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fedorov said.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergRussia has transformed its agriculture industry since the Soviet era as imports of foreign capital, equipment and technology helped farmers create one of the world’s biggest crop producers. Now the country is targeting the next step in bolstering its agricultural muscle -- seeds.
Many growers use specialized seeds designed to resist pests, disease and drought, but more than half for some crops come from foreign producers including Monsanto Co. and Syngenta AG that dominate a global market valued at more than $58 billion. Russian firms including Ros Agro Plc and billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s farm unit want to reduce that reliance on imports by creating their own seeds for everything from corn to sunflowers and sugar beets.