Farming Monthly National January 2015 | Página 7

Russian agribusiness enjoys
rapid growth of biotechnologies
Kuban Agro, one of the largest agricultural companies in southern Russia,
is rapidly developing cutting-edge seed farming and animal breeding
technologies where Russia has traditionally been dependent on import.
hough Russia has one of the largest
areas of arable land per capita in the
world, imported food supplies still make
up about 40% of the domestic market.
Kuban Agro, a part of Russian industrial
diversified group Basic Element, has
massively invested in R&D in
biotechnologies back in late-2000s, and now
enjoys the first results that will propel the
country’s self-sufficiency in agro sector.
Test-tube calves make up the future
The international market for pedigree
livestock has always been very tight, with
supply often exceeding demand. Russia has
been largely relying on imports int his sector,
buying 100,000-150,000 cattle per year worth
hundreds millions of dollars. However, as the
import market is shrinking and dairy farms are
still in dire need of new calves, Kuban Agro is
rapidly developing its Embryo Biotechnology
Center focused on animal genomics