Scientific support to plant breeding and seed production in Siberia in the XXI century

Agriculture in the Russian Federation is fundamental to the country’s economic performance, living standards, the wellbeing of people and state safety. Considerations relating to food security, prospects of and challenges before plant breeding in the Siberian Federal District (SFD), the largest agricultural area of the Russian Federation, are provided in the article. The agricultural area used in the SFD is about 50 million hectares and accounts for 13 % of the country’s gross grain production. The need for the introduction of modern molecular biological methods, bioengineering and IT technology is demonstrated and discussed. As Russia as a whole, Siberia is largely engaged in unpromising extensive farming practices, which rely on natural soil fertility, and this factor should be taken into account. Another issue is noncompliance with intensive farming technologies used for cultivating new-generation commercial cultivars. Although capital investments in plant breeding are the most cost effective investments in crop production, breeders’ efforts remain underfunded. The article explains the need for fundamental reform in this economic sector: the recognition of plant breeding as being a fundamental science; a fair increase in its funding; the development of a breeding strategy, nationally and regionally; the further expansion of the network of the Breeding Centers; the re-establishment and improvement of the universities’ departments specialized in plant breeding and seed production; having more state-funded places in the universities for training plant breeders to be able to maintain and cement the country’s advanced position in plant breeding and to develop new globally competitive next-generation cultivars of main crops. Should these issues be ignored, all the problems that have accumulated to date will lead to risks of long-term instability in this economic sector. The need for the careful preservation of continuity in plant breeders and plants being bred is stated. The regulatory functions of the state and agricultural science in plant breeding, plant industry and seed production are considered.

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