MPs and Experts Discussed Sustainable Rural Development in a Pandemic

The Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management via videoconferencing held a meeting on the “Role of Rural Territories in Ensuring the Spatial Development of the Russian Federation”. Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management, Deputy Chair of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Agrarian Policy, Natural Resources and Ecology Sergey Belousov chaired the meeting. Secretary of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Agrarian Policy, Natural Resources and Ecology Nataliia Amburtseva also participated in this event.

The meeting was devoted to current issues of sustainable rural development within the framework of the new economic reality created by the COVID-19, and included presentations by experts and representatives of the German-Russian Agrarian-Political Dialogue project. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, research institutes and public organizations.

Based on the discussion, the experts adopted a resolution featuring a number of practical steps to support and stimulate agricultural production, including through improving concessional mechanisms, providing government subsidies, attracting large agricultural companies to collaborate with cooperatives, etc. The IPA CIS suggested taking into account the recommendations of the round table “Sustainable Development of Rural Areas” held on 21 November 2019.