"EkoNiva" cannot agree with the Ministry of culture of Voronezh region on the construction of farms

Источник: The DairyNews
The largest Russian producer of milk – the group "EkoNiva" by Stefan Duerr - could not begin construction of farms producing milk in accordance with organic technology near Divnogorie of Liski district in Voronezh region.

Earlier, the company planned to launch two farms in 2020, investing in the construction about 1 billion rubles. According to Mr. Duerr, the creation of organic production on own lands of "EkoNiva" at the borders of the regional Museum-reserve "Divnogorie" was not received by the Ministry of culture, which is "not against cows, but against manure". The close to the reserve sources of the "Kommersant-Chernozemye" assure that the construction of farms in the protected is out of discussion, and negotiations on the construction of complexes near the protected area have been suspended due to the possible inclusion of the nearby object in the UNESCO list. 


The head of EkoNiva Stefan Duerr told the “Kommersant-Chernozemye” about the difficulties with the creation of organic milk production in Voronezh region. "About a month ago we delivered the first "organic" milk "EkoNiva" to trading networks, but this is milk from our farms in Kaluga region, which is processed at our plant "Mosmedynagroprom". We want to produce organic milk in Divnogorie as well. But the situation is complicated by the fact that there is a large area of our land is actually part of the reserve. Now we together with administrations of the reserve, of the district and the region try to find a way out of a situation, but so far we face bureaucratic difficulties", - explained Mr. Duerr.

According to him, "EkoNiva" owns about 5 thousand hectares near the villages of Divnogorie and Selyavnoe:" the institution does not mind the presence of cows in the reserve. But the Ministry of culture is against manure - and where can we put it? There are no animals without manure. Unfortunately, not all employees of the Ministry of culture have enough knowledge in agriculture. I believe that the neighborhood of the organic farm and the reserve is ideal. And we hope that we will find understanding with the Ministry of culture".

As Mr. Durr noted, first “EkoNiva” intends to build one "organic" farm in Divnogorie, then a second one may appear. After the appearance of products from the first farm the group plans to transfer to the production of "organic" milk to a small processing plant in Schuchie village of Liski district: "Its capacity just allows processing raw milk from one complex of 800 cows. And if there is a second complex in Divnogorie, milk can be supplied to other enterprises, for example to Bobrovsky cheese factory or to Anninsky dairy plant", - added the head of "EkoNiva".

EkoNiva plans to build two "organic" dairy complexes of 1 thousand cows and thus become the largest producer of organic products in Voronezh region, it became known at a meeting in the regional government at the end of 2018. Then the cost of each of the complexes without cattle (it usually accounts for a significant part of the costs) was estimated in the company at 450 million rubles. It is expected to complete the construction of facilities with a total capacity of about 40 tons per day in late 2019-early 2020.

In the Voronezh region, on the initiative of Governor Alexander Gusev, there was proclaimed a course for the production of organic products. But so far there are no major projects in the field of organic products in the region. The most ambitious were planned by structures of the former regional Deputy Prime Minister for agriculture, now adviser to Mr. Gusev Anatoly Spivakov: we are talking about the production of Guinea fowl eggs, as well as alfalfa and amaranth pellets as feed for farm animals.

It is the proximity of the "Divnogorie" was one of the reasons of “EkoNiva” for the creation of organic production. "We had disagreements with the Museum-reserve "Divnogorie". We wanted to build a dairy complex not far from it, and the director of the reserve was against it - they say, there will be a smell — said Stefan Durr in June 2018 in an interview with the “Kommersant-Chernozemye”. — As a result, we came to an agreement that we will build the complex using organic technologies, without chemicals".

The day before, the Museum-reserve "Divnogorie" chose not to comment on the situation, citing lack of information on the latest decisions in the situation with "EkoNiva": officials of the Ministry of culture participate in its resolution. The source of the "Kommersant-Chernozemye", close to "Divnogorie", said that the former leadership of the institution earlier agreed on the construction of an organic farm on the site, affecting the boundaries of the protected zone: "But there is a landmark, which is now nominated for inclusion in the list of UNESCO sites in the immediate vicinity of it. Because of this, the Ministry of culture joined the situation with the participation of the regional Museum-reserve". The source of the "Kommersant-Chernozemye" did not explain what kind of landmark it is. Earlier, the Ministry of culture did not have time to respond to the request of the “Kommersant-Chernozemye”. The government of Voronezh region assured the “Kommersant-Chernozemye” that “EkoNiva” is participating in negotiations with the Ministry.

Read more at © DairyNews.ru

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