Harvest holiday in Tatarstan

On October 12, Kazan welcomed heroes of the harvest 2002 - more than three thousand farmers of the republic. Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev awarded the best combine operators with cups, laureate diplomas, letters of thanks and monetary prizes.

The workers of agriculture have deserved national honors, M.Shaimiev said in his welcoming speech. Already for the second year our republic receives unprecedented crops. This year it has received more than 5,7 million tons of grain. It is a real feat of farmers, a victory of all multinational people of Tatarstan. Among 89 subjects of the Russian Federation, our republic ranks second after the Krasnodar region on productivity of grain crops. According to the President, the main achievement of the last decade was the overcoming of a psychological barrier. In the zone of risky agriculture, the people of Tatarstan managed to receive Kuban crops, believed in the power and potential of their homeland. Unlike other regions of the Russian Federation, our farmers constantly feel financial, technical and moral support of the state.

In the recent past the republic imported wheat. Today it is possible to tell with certainty that we have mastered the growth process of this culture. For seven years Tatarstan has provided itself with qualitative wheat grain. The republic has the lowest prices for bread in the Volga federal district. This year the republic produced over 2 million tons of wheat. It has sufficient supply of quality rye. The republican government together with suppliers and bakers has to develop the mechanism of possible limitation of prices on separate sorts of bread at the reasonable level, the RT President said. He thanked everyone who contributed to the "grain loaf" of the republic - heads of administrations, experts, scientists, heads and workers of all agriculture, journalists.