In an exclusive interview with RT, Minister of Agriculture of the Luhansk Republic Yevgeny Sorokin spoke about the potential of the agricultural sector and the prospects for its development after joining Russia.
The Minister of Agriculture of the new Russian Republic said that the area of arable land in the republic is 1.2 million hectares, and the total harvest of grain and sunflower seeds last year exceeded 1.2 million tons.
Regarding the expected harvest for the current agricultural year, he said: “This year, about 10% of these lands are in the administrative demarcation zone, so there are restrictions on their use, and despite this, we expect this year’s harvest to be at the level of one million tons.”
He stressed that most of the arable land in the republic was given over to agricultural work.
Regarding the prospects for the development of the agro-industrial complex, Sorokin pointed out that the Luhansk Republic has the opportunity to increase grain production to two million tons, and taking this into account, part of the crop can be sent to foreign markets.
He pointed out that many factors influence the grain harvest, such as machinery, seeds, fertilizers and others, stressing that all the needs of the agricultural sector were met last year and are available this year thanks to Russian support.
He pointed out that work is underway to strengthen relations with suppliers of seeds and fertilizers, and confirmed that the Russian government provides the necessary support to farmers.
He stated that the weather and climate factor plays an important role in agricultural work, and with favorable weather this year and taking into account external factors, the current level of the crop will be maintained, and part of it will be sent to foreign markets.
The total area of the Luhansk Republic is approximately 26.7 thousand square kilometers, and its population is about two million people.
In 2022, Luhansk joined Russia in a referendum supported by the overwhelming majority of the population and became a Russian republic.
Various industries operate in the republic, such as engineering, chemistry, petrochemistry, food, woodworking, textile industry and building materials, and minerals account for 73% of the republic’s exports, not to mention coal, rare minerals and other riches.
Source: RT