Agro Perspectiva

Ukraine: Ministry of Agrarian Policy plans to increase import replacement of agricultural equipment up to 60%

28.05.2013 10:17 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — The national agriculturalists are to be provided with modern agriculture equipment, including by national production. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food gives financial assistance so that to encourage agrarians to buy agricultural equipment manufactured in Ukraine, Government Portal reports. With this aim programs of financial lease are functioning and make the equipment available not only for huge enterprises but for small and average agricultural producers. Owing to the state support directed to raising competitiveness of the national equipment the Ministry plans to increase import replacement up to 60%. It was discussed during a meeting dedicated to issues of the development of engineering and technical supplies in agro-industrial complex and agriculture machine-building which took place in the frames of AGRO-2013 exhibition. «One of the top-priorities of activity of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food is rendering state financial assistance for purchasing of agriculture equipment of national production. It gives chance to form modern technical and technological base of agro-industrial enterprises. At the same time, owing to the state support to agricultural machine building branch we plan to increase import replacement up to 60% in the next 5 years, with the present showing at the level of 20%,» director of the department of engineering and technical maintenance and agricultural machine building of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food Olexandr Grygorovych noted. According to the specialist, the Ministry implements a series of investment projects on production of grain-harvesters, modern tractors and creating facilities for production of wide-seeders and technological re-equipment of the existing equipment park. The director of the department also emphasized that principal volumes of production of agricultural production fall on farms, personal village economies and cooperatives. So, the task of the department is to create all conditions that agriculture machinery would be available for small and average agriculturalists. It should be noted that Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Prysyazhniuk informed that the Government directed its support to purchase of agricultural equipment just by petty, average producers and cooperatives. Moreover, Mykola Prysyazhniuk emphasized that owing to implementation of the Program of activization of the economic development for 2013–2014 conditions of financial lease would be improved giving chance for agrarians to buy 4 thousand agricultural machines annually.