Modern issues of horticulture as the most important component of food security of Russia

Urban Farm DB summary

A study on private subsidiary farms—a critical component of Russia's national agricultural sector—argues that developing horticulture is an inexpensive and stable strategy for improving household food security. According to estimates from the Union of Gardeners of Russia, 125 million Russians belong to households that obtain food from land they cultivate themselves, and Rosstat estimates that of Russia's 8.851 trillion rubles in total agricultural production (at actual prices) in 2022, households accounted for 2.071 trillion rubles, a quarter of the total. However, amid growing sanctions pressure on the agricultural sector, both the number of farms and production efficiency indicators for personal consumption and sale have declined significantly, hindered by regulatory obstacles including the inapplicability of the 'dacha amnesty' to most allotment gardens, serious cadastral errors, growing numbers of abandoned plots, and new legislative restrictions on keeping farm animals and birds on garden plots.