We have problems with the availability of seed stock for a number of crops and with the breeding material of chickens
Those who lived in the 1980s remember the time of a total shortage of almost all food products (except bread). Those who found the 1990s experienced an era of total expansion of foreign food products to Russia. As a result, by the 10s of the new century, the country found itself in a situation of serious dependence on food supplies from abroad. We bought almost everything: from meat and butter to flour, from cheese and sweets to vegetables and potatoes. It was then that the question of food security arose in full growth. What does this mean? And why is food security not only a matter of state sovereignty, but also the most important aspect of the everyday life of our citizens?
For those who do not know, I inform you that since 2020, the Russian Food Security Doctrine has been in force in our country. Without going into details, I note that this strategic document implies the creation of conditions for our country to independently produce almost all the main agricultural products, from wheat and oil crops to vegetables, milk and meat.
The doctrine sets the goal that the level of self-sufficiency in the production of these goods reaches 90-100% in annual terms. I note right away that the document itself contains a certain systemic flaw, which consists in the fact that security always implies the need to have a certain margin of safety. Any specialists in the security of technical systems can tell us this. That is, if we want to be confident in the sustainability of our production relations in agriculture, then the level of our own production to ensure food security should exceed 100% by at least 25-30% or even more.
But that's not what we're talking about now… Even if we want to provide ourselves with 90-100% food products, this is in itself a non-trivial strategic task. What is it set for? Everything is really serious. On the one hand, we all live in a world of global economic relations, when the market is the whole world. This is very good in terms of development opportunities. But at the same time, it is extremely dangerous because of the vulnerability of the economic system on the part of enemies and ill-wishers. If a country is significantly dependent on the supply of imported food (and most countries of the world live in this mode), then it is very easy to transfer such a country, as they say, to the regime of external manual control, simply by cutting off the supply of necessary food to it.
The so-called «collective West» plays these games constantly, imposing unreasonable and essentially illegal sanctions around the world against any objectionable state or its government. With the same countries of Africa, he has been playing “loyalty in exchange for food” for decades, establishing a regime of total dictatorship, pressure and blackmail on the countries of the African continent.
After 2014, when the West made it clear to all of us that all means are good to fight Russia, from sanctions to the creation of the Nazi regime in Ukraine, a lot has been done in our country to ensure food sovereignty and achieve that same food security. Now, as of the beginning of 2023, we provide ourselves with wheat and other grain crops by 185.5%, vegetable oil — by 221.1%, fish and fish products — by 153.2%, sugar — by 103.2%, meat and meat products — by 101.6%, potatoes — by 94%, milk and dairy products — by 85.7%, vegetables and gourds — by 89.2%, fruits and berries — by 44.9%, food salt — by 65 ,2%.
It would seem that everything is fine! But, as they say, there are nuances that change everything. It is no coincidence that the Doctrine of Food Security of the Russian Federation notes the need to provide seeds of the main agricultural crops of domestic production. And here the situation is actually extremely disturbing.
In general, we provide ourselves with seeds by 60 percent, but let's see what happens in detail. So, if self-sufficiency in seeds of domestic selection in 2022 for wheat and main grain crops is quite favorable, then, for example, for soybean it was already 46.2%, for corn — 42.9%, for spring rapeseed — 30.5%, for sunflower — 21.8%, for potatoes — 8.7%, for sugar beet — 3%. According to the plans of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, in the near future we will provide ourselves with more than 50% of seeds for almost all crops, except for sugar beets and potatoes. According to them, the situation is still more than problematic.
The situation is somewhat better in animal husbandry, where we are less dependent on foreign supplies of so-called breeding products, roughly speaking, “young animals” for fattening. For breeding products (material) of domestic production of the main animal species, by the end of 2022, the following indicators were planned in our country: for dairy cattle — 64.1%, for beef cattle — 98.2%, for pigs — 84.6%, for sheep — 98.5%, for goats — 40.0%. The only indicator by which we have a total dependence is the meat crosses of chickens. Here we have a level of self-sufficiency of only one and a half percent. That is, we are totally dependent on foreign supplies of breeding material for the production of the very chicken meat, for which we have complete self-sufficiency. Roughly speaking, it is possible literally tomorrow to bring down the production of almost all of our poultry meat, cutting off the supply of crosses for future fattening.
I will add that we are also largely dependent on foreign supplies of herbicides, that is, when implementing some aggressive measures to abroad, it will be extremely difficult for us to control weeds, pests and plant diseases in the production of all our crop products, including wheat, of which we are now very proud of the record harvest in 2022.
If we add to this the problems with the provision of domestic agricultural machinery, machinery and equipment, then the picture is, if not critical, then clearly alarming and requiring close state attention.
A few words must be said about how food security affects life and diet of our citizens. Three aspects are essential here.
First, it is extremely important for us to minimize the possibility of famine or even food shortages in our country to almost zero. This is an essential aspect of the social contract between the government and society, observed throughout the years of the existence of the new Russia. Ensuring confidence that we always have enough food (of the required quantity and proper quality) for everyone is one of the key tasks of the government, which it has so far successfully coped with.
Secondly, own production of agricultural products is also the creation of jobs in the countryside and the preservation of the rural way of life, which, among other things, is one of the foundations of our civilization.
Thirdly, providing our market with domestic food products is also a significant step towards state control of the quality of food products on the shelves of our stores. Domestic production allows you to control quality at every stage of production and transportation, which is important, among other things, for protecting health and creating conditions for active longevity.
In conclusion, it is necessary, of course, to say what we should do after all. And here, in fact, everything is clear: you have to work. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation understands these tasks and is moving in a planned manner to ensure that we have the necessary seed material, and «young growth», and herbicides. Work is also underway to provide our farmers with the necessary machines and equipment. This is the task of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. As they say, «goals are clear, tasks are defined», but a special military operation makes its own adjustments to our strategic planning.
And here all of us — both the state and society — need to realize once again that food security in the conditions of the NWO is a matter of the survival and development of our civilization. Roughly speaking, if yesterday we wanted to “grow” by 5-10-15% per year, today we need to grow many times, and sometimes even dozens of times. The situation with the supply of crosses of meat breeds of chickens in our, without exaggeration, successful poultry farming is a clear confirmation of this.
And, as it was already in the Soviet Union, we need to direct additional investments in domestic agriculture. Here you can talk about a variety of sources. I will note only one thing: with the adoption of a package of laws on the digital ruble, the process of implementing and implementing targeted emission has been significantly simplified. This allows us, the Russian state, to issue the necessary amount of «colored» digital rubles in order to purposefully direct it not just to the development of agriculture, but directly to provide the agro-industrial complex with domestic seed, herbicides, machinery and equipment. I hope that the government will use this tool in the foreseeable future.
It may sound strange, but food security issues must be addressed in peacetime. Life has developed in such a way that in the conditions of the NMD we need to win not only on the battlefield, but also on the fields of our agro-industrial complex. This is how we live.