Russia looks to smart technologies for the future of agroecology and farming

Optimizing farming under existing soil and climatic conditions in Russia’s main agricultural regions was the focus of a roundtable discussion here today at the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy (RSAU-MTAA). New technologies took centre stage.

“Smart technologies in agroecology and farming” – co-organized by FAO and supported by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture – was broadcast to leading agrarian universities across Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States.

Today’s experts’ meeting was the first in a series of events organized jointly by FAO’s Liaison Office in Moscow and the Timiryazev Academy in the framework of the Year of the Environment in Russia. The President of the Russian Federation signed a decree last year declaring 2017 The Year of the Environment. The Year, according to the Decree, aims to attract public attention to issues surrounding Russia’s environmental development, the preservation of biological diversity, and ensuring environmental security.

In her statement, the head of FAO’s Moscow office Eugenia Serova underlined that FAO’s vision of the future for the global agrifood system centers on the concept of Climate-Smart Agriculture, which is based on the transformation of agricultural systems to ensure efficient development support and sustainable food security in the face of climate change.

Participants in today’s event discussed topics ranging from the role of smart technologies in “greening” farming systems, agroecological monitoring, product quality enhancement and agricultural waste disposal, as well as the importance of promoting the concept of smart agriculture in higher education in post-Soviet countries.

The meeting was attended by prominent Russian and foreign experts, among them one of the leading world scholars in the environment, Riccardo Valentini, Tuscia University Professor and a Nobel laureate from Italy. Valentini underscored the need to improve agricultural technologies in order to make the most of favorable agro-ecological and agro-climatic conditions developing in Russia against the backdrop of global climate change.

Expert meetings at the Timiryazev Academy within the framework of the Year of the Environment will continue throughout 2017, covering efficient use of water, soil and fishery resources.

List of universities participating in the round table - webinar
“Smart technologies in agroecology and farming”
April 13th, 2017

1. Volgograd State Agrarian University
2. Dagestan State Agrarian University named after M.M.Dzhambulatov
3. Far Eastern State Agrarian University
4. Far Eastern Federal University
5. Tver State Agricultural Academy
6. Primorskaya State Academy of Agriculture
7. Kabardino-Balkarian State Agrarian University named after V.M.Kokov
8. Kazan State Agricultural University
9. Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T.Trubilin
10. Michurinsk State Agrarian University
11. Chuvash State Agricultural Academy
12. State Agrarian University of Moldova
13. Kazakh National Agrarian University
14. University of Novi Sad, Serbia

13 April 2017, Moscow, Russian Federation