This was announced by Roman Kalentyev, the region's Acting Minister of Agriculture, at a briefing held on Thursday, June 10, 2021.
According to recent reports, 1 million 40 thousand hectares were sown, which is 107% of the plan (976.8 thousand hectares). Spring crops cover an area of 483.5 thousand hectares, industrial crops - 454.3 thousand hectares, sugar beet crops - 54 thousand hectares, sunflower - 311 thousand hectares.
The department head of the Ministry of Agriculture mentioned the Penza Oblast as one of the top five RF regions, where the spring sowing campaign exceeded the planned indicators. The region was also marked in the top three regions of the Volga Federal District that exceeded the plan.
"The Penza Oblast was well-prepared for the sowing campaign. There were no problems with the availability of mineral fertilisers, seeds, fuels and lubricants. The necessary agricultural machinery and equipment was prepared," Roman Kalentyev said.
This year, the sown area in the region has been increased by 27 thousand hectares, mostly due to the ongoing work on using previously untouched lands. It is planned to put another 31 thousand hectares into operation.
"We worked with traditional crops and increased the area of sowing of soybeans, sunflower, cereals and legumes. We also expanded the area for grain maize. The decision to sow more of this crop is due to the high rate of the livestock industry development: big companies are implementing large-scale projects in the field of poultry, pig and dairy cattle breeding and plan to increase their capacity. It gives us the opportunity to increase our export potential," the acting minister said.
The timely provision of state support funds contributes to the successful implementation of seasonal field work in the region.
As of June 9, 2021, the RF Ministry of Agriculture approved 117 applications for spring field work in the amount of 5.2 billion rubles for preferential short-term loans.
In addition, as a result of the spring field work, 73 applications were approved for the purchase of agricultural machinery in the amount of 691.1 million rubles, with 65 loan agreements in the amount of 462.4 million rubles signed with small businesses.
Today, Penza farmers are getting ready to start the harvesting campaign.
