Alexey Gruzdev: The main way of development for small and medium–sized dairy farms in Russia is cooperation

According to Alexey Gruzdev, the greater part of milk is produced in medium-sized farms. At the same time, the share of large producers is not too significant. Thus, the top 30 largest companies producing milk account for only 10% of the gross volume of these products. However, the growth rates of the industry are provided by large manufacturers, Alexey Gruzdev added.

The contribution of small farms, including peasant farm holdings, is still small (only 2 million tons of milk last year), but their number is increasing, in particular, due to legal re-registration among citizens who have personal subsidiary farms.

‘The development of farming in Russia can be viewed in two aspects. The first is an increase in milk production. The second is social, since farms provide employment for the population and the development of rural areas,’ Alexey Gruzdev said.

The expert called cooperation and the development of the service industry around them the main way to develop small and medium-sized farms in Russia. In Europe, farmers' cooperation is actively developing, while in Russia this trend is just emerging, Alexey Gruzdev noted.

He explained that, for example, in Europe, only 4 people often work on one farm with a livestock of 70 or more – parents and children who have only one tractor at their disposal. Everything else is outsourced. These can be services such as forage harvesting, fattening of bulls, reproduction of animals, and such examples of reproduction already exist in Russia, Alexey Gruzdev said.