18.07.08

The Russian Agriculture Ministry forecasts that this year's grain harvest will amount to 85 million tons, which is not enough to guarantee the country's absolute food security, experts said at a news conference on Monday.

According to Rector of the Moscow State University of Technologies and Management Valentina Ivanova, Russia with its 140-million population should produce at least one ton of grain per capita, because about 60 percent of grain harvest is used for the needs of cattle breeding.

Besides, Russia resumed exports of grain crops in the last several years, Ivanova told a news conference.

In her opinion, Russia should increase grain production 2.5 times.

While taking part in the news conference, Director of the All Russia Research and Development Institute of Grain and Grain Processing Products Lidiya Machikhina pointed to such a reserve for resolving the problem as a careful attitude to grain harvest.

"Annual losses of grain are estimated at 40 percent. And that index should be reduced to 12 percent, thus nearing foreign standards," she said.

According to experts, the country sustains colossal losses throughout the entire process - from grain harvesting and transportation to grain storage.

Statistics indicate that a 1-millimetre hole in a roof of grain storage may cause a loss of one ton of grain every year. In addition to this, pests destroy 15 percent of grain harvest annually.

Experts believe that one of the major causes of such damage is insufficient training of specialists.

"It is necessary to develop integration between educational establishments, scientific and research institutions and employers for their efficient work," Ivanova said.

Scientists have already established close contacts with the Moscow State University of Technologies and Management. They plan to create a joint laboratory and launch a master's degree program on the basis of the All Russia Research and Development Institute of Grain and Grain Processing Products.

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Source: Itar-Tass