In the press center of the State Committee of Information and Press of South Ossetia was held a press conference of the Minister of Agriculture Mairbek Guchmazov, during which he spoke about the situation in agriculture, peasant farmers, and plans for the development of agro-industrial complex of the Republic.
At the beginning of the press conference, the minister acknowledged that there had not been yet reached any achievements.
He has noted that no any state agricultural enterprise was preserved in the Republic, and the development of the industry is concentrated mainly in the hands of farmers.
According to Guchmazov, today no any processing plant is functioning in the Republic.
"Insignificant products this year were produced by SUE "Complex processing industries" and the cannery," - the minister added, stressing that without the revival of processing enterprises one could not speak on the future development of agriculture.
In the absence of such production the problems arise with farmers, as it is practically impossible to sell their products.
Speaking about the revival of the processing enterprises, Guchmazov reported that the Ministry of Industry had developed a sectoral program for the development of agro-industrial complex in South Ossetia, which outlines priority actions necessary to begin recovery of agriculture.
"The main item of this program is precisely the restoration of the processing enterprises, recultivation of our fields. In 1989 in the Republic there were 17,000 hectares of arable land, currently only 3,000 hectares are used, "- said Guchmazov .
Responding to a question about what is being done for the development of agriculture in the Republic today, the Minister has noted that peasant farmers for the past two years were given credit facilities in the form of commercial loans totaling more than five million rubles.
"Unfortunately, many of them, for objective or subjective reasons, are unable to return the loans, and we have to go to the law," - said Guchmazov.
Journalists asked about the possibility of introducing a system of incremental lending in South Ossetia, well established in many countries.
According to Mairbeg Guchmazov, for previous years not any business plan was financed in full. However, it is not associated with the introduction of this system of lending and the desire to cover a larger number of projects submitted.
He has noted that at present the Ministry of Agriculture is preparing agreements with the district administrations, which must include all the mechanisms of development of agro-industrial complex and responsibilities for the Ministry of Agriculture and district authorities.
"These agreements also provide subsidies on the final outcome. For example, a farmer produced 10 liters of milk sold to the state, and reported to the leadership of the district. Once a quarter, all reports are collected, processed and submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and then to the Finance Ministry, after which the area is subsidized. In this case, we avoid many risks, in particular the mismanagement of credit funds. That is, if the farmer does not report to the district, he will not receive subsidies, "- said Guchmazov.
Reporters also asked about 40 million rubles allocated in 2010 as a loan for the development of farming.
"This amount was allocated to the districts of the Republic. I can't tell the exact number of farmers who have received loans, as the lists were prepared by the district authorities. Today this information is being collected», - said the minister, promising to announce all the information in the near future.
