NATALIA SHAGAIDA: “REVIVAL OF COTTON PRODUCTION IN STAVROPOL REGION WILL HAVE A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT”

Natalia Shagaida, Head of Agrarian Department of the Gaidar Institute, talking to the Club of Regions commented on the news related to development of cotton production in the Stavropol region. According to the expert, the revival of cotton production will have a positive impact on socio-economic development of the region in the long term, support the agricultural sector in a difficult economic period and provide the country with raw materials, which previously could only be obtained from the foreign market.

The Stavropol region will develop cotton production jointly with Uzbekistan at the initiative of Governor Vladimir Vladimirov. Uzbekistan is one of the six world leaders in cotton production. "Four years ago, we launched a project aimed to revive cotton production in the Stavropol region, and at the same time we started cooperating with Uzbek specialists in terms of cotton seed breeding. We are interested to make deeper our cooperation and increase the area of this crop in the region," stressed Vladimir Vladimirov.

Natalia Shagaida believes that the Stavropol region is well experienced in cotton production, and it is only a matter of time to switch to industrial production volumes using modern equipment and technology. "Evidently, when Governor Vladimirov considered revival of cotton production, he weighed the economic benefits and risks. The expert added that is an excellent sector of agriculture for diversification. It is sustainable unlike huge livestock facilities or meat production. It is true that raw materials today can be bought on the foreign market, however, prices there are very different, that is why Russian regions have to provide their own cotton, - told the expert.