Two new centers engaged in potato breeding and seed raising will be built in the Tomsk Region.
The first plant breeding center will be built in the village of Nashchyokovo, Shegarsky County, and the second one in the Tomsk County. A total of RUR 80.2 mio ($1 mio) has been invested in the project so far.
The first center will be engaged in selection and seed raising of cereal crops and oil-bearing crops, while the second one will be devoted to potatoes: it will breed new varieties and test new technologies related to seed raising and protecting it from pests.
The first center will purchase seeds in Russia: in Tomsk, Tymen, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo.
The major project to create two plant breeding centers is being implemented by two agricultural enterprises in cooperation with the Siberian Research Institute of Agriculture and Peat.
The construction of the centers is part of a federal research program aimed at developing agriculture in the region.