Russia calls for joint agricultural projects

Food security in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization region is the shared duty of SCO member states, Russia's Deputy Agriculture Minister and Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries Ilya Shestakov said during a conference in Moscow.

The conference "Food supply security as the greatest goal and direction of the agricultural policy of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization" took place on October 8 as part of the AGRO-INNOTECH exhibition.

Today, Russia fully meets its domestic staple food markets demand, and is ready to supply them to international markets as well, the Deputy Minister said.

The combined potential of SCO memberstates in the industry is sufficiently high to make a significant joint contribution to the global food basket. He also noted that SCO member states have developed many bilateral contacts on this market.

Russia is interested in more joint projects in agriculture, in sharing technologies and cooperation in relevant research and education programs, Shestakov said. "We see tremendous potential for further development in the SCO framework. We have more projects to cooperate on," he added. "I am confident that food security in the region is our common goal."