The agro-industrial complex (AIC) of Nizhny Novgorod Region is the set of branches of agricultural production and of the food and processing industries of the region, including crop growing, livestock farming, and related industries. The development of the AIC is regarded by the regional government as a key area for ensuring the Region's food security.[1]

Condition in the early 2000s

In April 2004, the chairman of the agrarian committee of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region, Konstantin Purikhov, described the state of the AIC as "deplorable." Reporting to the deputies on readiness for spring field work, he noted a reduction in sown areas for all crops: in 2004 only 560 thousand hectares were planned for grain, against 1.2 million hectares in the Soviet period. In the past year alone, the cattle herd had shrunk by 56 thousand head. Only 22 kg of mineral fertilizer per hectare of arable land had been procured for sowing, whereas a year earlier the figure was 30 kg. Only 60% of the seed grain met the standard. Funding, according to Purikhov, was allocated "on a residual basis": in the first quarter of 2004 the regional budget provided 71 million rubles instead of the 150 million due.[2]

Production indicators and investment in the 2020s

In 2021, despite unfavorable weather conditions, the Region's AIC produced 1.24 million tons of grain, on a par with 2019. The gross potato harvest reached almost 620 thousand tons, and that of open-field vegetables exceeded 130 thousand tons. In livestock farming, milk yield amounted to 642 thousand tons (a 2% increase over the previous year), and production of livestock and poultry for slaughter in live weight exceeded 166 thousand tons, also up 2%. In 2021, more than 5 billion rubles from the federal and regional budgets were allocated to support the industry and develop rural areas, of which about 1.2 billion went to the comprehensive development of rural areas.[1]

By June 2021, 84 investment projects with a total value of 38.5 billion rubles were being implemented in the agro-industrial sectors — crop growing, livestock farming, and the food and processing industries — nearly triple the investment volume of pre-pandemic 2019 (13.4 billion rubles; in 2020, 15.4 billion rubles). According to Governor Gleb Nikitin, the implementation of projects in the Region's districts contributes to production growth and the creation of new jobs. In 2021, more than 4.5 billion rubles in subsidies were earmarked to support AIC enterprises, 8% more than the previous year.[3]

In 2022, about 5 billion rubles in subsidies were allocated to support AIC enterprises and develop rural areas, more than 2 billion of which had already been disbursed to recipients for spring field work, land reclamation, and partial reimbursement of the costs of machinery and equipment. At that time, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Governor Gleb Nikitin and the head of the Agat Group of Companies, Aleksey Mamochkin, signed a cooperation agreement: the company planned to invest about 10 billion rubles in the Region's agro-industrial sector through 2026. The projects covered bringing unused farmland back into cultivation, creating a crop-growing cluster, growing and storing grain and potatoes, producing seeds, and developing pedigree horse breeding on the basis of the former Perevoz Horse Stud Farm. By then, the Agat Group had already acquired more than 38 thousand hectares of agricultural land in five municipal okrugs of the Region and obtained the status of an agricultural producer.[4]

Comprehensive development of territories

Issues of the comprehensive development of territories in Nizhny Novgorod Region fall within the remit of the Ministry of Urban Development and Agglomeration Development of Nizhny Novgorod Region, the regional executive body overseeing urban planning policy, the comprehensive development of territories, and the development of the agglomeration within the Region.

Fuel supply for the harvest campaign

To carry out the harvest campaign, agribusiness enterprises in Nizhny Novgorod Region need 31,500 tons of diesel fuel and 6,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline; during the fuel crisis, the price of diesel rose by 36% compared with the sowing season, and AI-92 gasoline became 20% more expensive.[5] Amid the fuel shortage, Nizhny Novgorod farmers managed to establish diesel supplies through direct contracts with Likard, a subsidiary of LUKOIL, as well as through regional trader-operators, who account for about 50% of total shipments; agribusiness enterprises receive roughly 400 tons of diesel fuel per day, mainly in small wholesale lots of up to 30 tons.[5] The Nizhny Novgorod Region Ministry of Agriculture recommended that agribusiness enterprises build up reserve stocks of diesel fuel sufficient for one and a half to two months of consumption; independent gas station chains are expected to be brought in to create a distribution reserve, serving as "distribution hubs" for farms that have no storage facilities of their own.[5] The inclusion of agribusiness and food industry enterprises in "white lists" of organizations entitled to refuel at gas stations out of turn, on a par with emergency services, is under discussion.[5]

Industry events

An annual venue for exchanging experience is the "Field Day" exhibition. In July 2023, it was held at the experimental field of the Nizhny Novgorod Research Institute of Agriculture in the Kstovo Municipal Okrug. More than 200 agribusiness organizations took part in the event; the exhibition featured over 200 units of modern agricultural machinery and equipment, 120 new crop varieties, breeding livestock, and developments in selection, agrochemistry, and plant protection. Sixteen municipalities of the Region set up their own displays, as did educational institutions of the region. The opening ceremony was led by the Region's Minister of Agriculture and Food Resources, Nikolay Denisov; participants were presented with industry awards.[6]

Recognition of industry workers

The region has established the honorary title "Honored Worker of the Agro-Industrial Complex of Nizhny Novgorod Region". It is awarded to specialists who have worked in the industry for at least 25 years — some of the recipients have devoted more than 40 years to agriculture. As of 2026, the title has been conferred on 23 residents of the region. By a resolution of the Legislative Assembly of July 30, 2026, ten more people became recipients: machine operator Nikolay Volkov (OOO Vozrozhdenie, Sharanga Okrug), general director of AO Knyagininskoye Moloko Sergey Volkov, agronomist Mikhail Gribov (OOO Rodnik, Vad Okrug), milkmaid Irina Koreshkova (OOO Im. Gorkogo, Uren Okrug), chief engineer of OOO Plemzavod Pushkinskoye Aleksey Linev (Bolshoye Boldino Okrug), livestock breeder Galina Lukoyanova (OOO Bolshemurashkinsky Breeding Farm), tractor driver-machinist Aleksandr Manshin (AO Pergaleyskoye, Buturlino Okrug), chairman of the Shagayevsky SPK (kolkhoz) Vladimir Napalkov (Pochinki Okrug), foreman Aleksandr Terekhin (Barmino, Lyskovo Okrug), and chief engineer of the Ushakovo SPK (kolkhoz) Aleksandr Khramov (Gagino Okrug).[7]

State Agricultural Academy

Sources

  1. Newsroom24 — Gleb Nikitin Announces Respectable Results for Nizhny Novgorod Agribusiness in 2021 (archive)
  2. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — "The Agro-Industrial Complex of Nizhny Novgorod Region Is in a Deplorable State," (archive)
  3. TASS (archive)
  4. GIPERNN — 10 Billion to Be Invested in the Agro-Industrial Complex of Nizhny Novgorod Region by 2026 (archive)
  5. Kommersant (Volga Region) — The Fuel Season (archive)
  6. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Nizhny Novgorod Farmers Present Their Products at "Field Day" (archive)
  7. Vremya N — Ten Residents of the Region Awarded the Title "Honored Worker of the Agro-Industrial Complex of Nizhny Novgorod Region" (archive)
Materials from articles used (1)