Mishustin Announces the Creation of a Seed Research and Production Center

A new seed research and production center will be created in Russia. It will be based on five specialized institutes but without merging them into a single entity. This was announced by Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, on Monday at a meeting with his deputies.
«The Government has signed <...> a decree, which is aimed at fostering the development of the seed industry. A research and production center will be created. Its specialists will engage in fundamental and applied research to develop new species, varieties and hybrids of agricultural crops,» the Prime Minister said.
According to him, «the association will include five well-known scientific structures from different regions», such as the Kurchatov Institute from Moscow, the Pervomayskaya Sugar Beet Breeding and Experimental Station from the Krasnodar Territory, the North Caucasus and Rostov federal research centers, and the Crimean Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking.
«Each of them has its own school, competent specialists, and original developments. Therefore, there is no need to unite them into a single entity. Working as part of the center and concentrating their efforts, they will be able to successfully cooperate and create competitive breeding forms, as well as new agriculture production and processing technologies in a shorter time,» the Prime Minister noted.
Mishustin said that the Kurchatov Institute will be the parent organization. «We hope that the new center will present its work program as soon as possible and involve representatives of our agribusiness in this process. This cooperation will lay the foundation for creating better new lines of plants with high yields,» he added.
The Prime Minister explained that in this way the Government continues to provide additional support to Russian scientists engaged in breeding and seed production. «Such developments are extremely important for successful import substitution in the agribusiness, as well as for improving food security,» he said. He also recalled that the Government had previously decided to create a breeding center for poultry farmers in the Moscow Region.
Source: tass.ru