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IX Annual International Scientific and Practical Conference “Climate, Soil Fertility, Agro-Technologies”

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IX Annual International Scientific and Practical Conference “Climate, Soil Fertility, Agro-Technologies”

This year, the conference took place from June 26 to 27 in Samara. The organizer was Lyudmila Vladimirovna Orlova, Chair of the National Movement for Conservation Agriculture. Sergey Nikolaevich Tsigelnik, an activist from the “Earth Development” Autonomous Non-Profit Organization, attended the event and shared his personal impressions.

— Sergey Nikolaevich, can you tell us who participated in the conference?

— I was pleasantly surprised by the level of participants. There were representatives from the State Duma, two Russian ministries, regional and city officials, scientists from several institutes, farmers, and agronomists.

— Very interesting! What topics were discussed?

— Let me provide detailed information about the speakers and the issues they raised.

Andrey Anatolyevich Anikeev, Deputy of the State Duma, Chair of the Subcommittee on Effective Use of Agricultural Land and Development of the Melioration Complex of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues, PhD in Economics. (He spoke about the causes of soil degradation and the need to address this issue.)

Roman Evgenievich Nekrasov, representative of the Ministry of Agriculture (He discussed the necessity of increasing agricultural production and emphasized that this should be achieved by enhancing soil fertility, thus promoting soil-conserving technologies.)

Ekaterina Gennadyevna Doronina, representative of the Ministry of Education and Science (She mentioned the need to find correlations between climate and fertility, and since it’s claimed that the climate agenda is imposed on us, we need our own research and justification for this agenda.)

Igor Alexandrovich Andreev, representative of the leadership of Samara Region (He spoke about the agricultural indicators of Samara Region and pointed out that food production is what gives any country independence.)

Sergey Nikolaevich Shevchenko, Director of the Samara Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (He discussed soil fertility and ways to stabilize it, as well as the benefits of direct seeding, among other topics.)\

In the photo: S.N. Shevchenko, photo by S.N. Tsigelnik

Viktor Korneyevich Dridiger, Head of the Scientific Direction at the Federal State Budgetary Institution “North Caucasian Federal Scientific Center,” Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor (He spoke about the history of no-till technology and current research, including the preparation of a monograph on the implementation of this technology).

In the photo: V.K. Dridiger, photo by S.N. Tsigelnik

Andrey Valentinovich Zorin, Head of the “Grain of Life” Agriholding (He discussed his experience with no-till technologies in his farm and the problems in this area that need to be addressed).

In the photo: A.V. Zorin, photo by S.N. Tsigelnik

and many other scientists and agricultural producers.

— Sergey Nikolayevich, were there any discussions between agrarians and scientists?

— Yes, the issue of soil fertility was actively discussed among agrarians and scientists.

Despite differing viewpoints among the speakers, a common and unifying message was the recognition that there is indeed a problem with soil fertility that needs to be addressed.

An interesting aspect of the conference was the discussion of the climate agenda—carbon footprint, carbon neutrality, carbon units, etc.

Some speakers openly stated that this agenda is misguided, arguing that global warming is not necessarily linked to carbon dioxide and certainly not to CO2 emissions produced by humans.

At the same time, several other speakers actively promoted the idea that human activities do indeed create or exacerbate climate issues through CO2 emissions, emphasizing the need to reduce emissions, implement carbon taxes, and establish carbon units.

It felt like people were living in parallel universes. However, it is worth noting that no one engaged in heated debates; everyone calmly expressed their opinions.

I appreciated how one of the speakers remarked that while the issue of climate change due to CO2 may be exaggerated, the efforts of those advocating for it can still be beneficial. Specifically, one of the most effective methods for capturing CO2 from the atmosphere (a process known as carbon sequestration) is converting it into organic compounds and microbiota in the soil, which directly contributes to soil fertility!

— Sergey Nikolayevich, what did you find most important at the event?

— The most significant takeaway was the discussion of concrete methods for restoring and/or enhancing soil fertility. Agrarians shared their experiences with various technologies, while scientists discussed research in this field, including insights from the last century.

— Was there anything else that stood out?

Both the speakers and the conference organizer noted a crucial point. Despite the successful experiences of many agricultural enterprises and existing research, there is still no well-developed scientific description of these technologies.

This leads to two main issues:

1) These technologies must be learned through trial and error, often resulting in setbacks and sometimes abandonment of methods (there were participants who experienced this).

2) Agricultural universities cannot teach these technologies because there are simply no verified sources to include in the curriculum.

For agricultural producers considering a transition to soil-conserving technologies, the most significant concern is profitability! This area is also fraught with challenges, largely due to the aforementioned problems.

— Sergey Nikolayevich, can you provide examples?

— Among specific technologies, the No-Till method (no plowing) and the closely related Low-Till method (shallow, gentle tillage) were discussed most extensively. There were agrarians who have been successfully implementing these methods for a long time, as well as those who faced challenges. One of the speakers, a scientist, clearly stated that simply stopping plowing fields is insufficient for transitioning to No-Till. Often, soil preparation is necessary first, and this preparation varies depending on specific circumstances (location, climate, soil conditions, etc.). This immediately raised the question—where can one learn these methods? The same scientist replied that he and his colleagues are about to release a book on this subject, meaning some scientific work will soon be available.

— That is encouraging! Were there any amendments to legislation discussed?

— Yes, the issue of the lack of clear definitions for soil fertility and soil itself in legislation was mentioned (there is a definition of soil, but it is considered outdated). In my opinion, this is also a very important point.

— You spent the second day in the fields, both literally and figuratively. Tell us more!

— Yes, on the second day we visited the fields of the agricultural enterprise “Orlovskoye,” which has been used for several years as a so-called carbon polygon. In these fields, nature-conserving technologies are applied for agricultural production, and all important indicators are monitored—from crop yields to changes in the chemical and microbiological composition of the soils.

In the photo: S.N. Tsygelnik, Dmitry Alexandrovich Sviridov, agroconsulting expert, chief agronomist expert of the Grain Soybean Union of the Volga Federal District, candidate of agricultural sciences, and Elena Alexandrovna Sokolova, project manager for “Healthy Soil” at Syngenta

— Sergey Nikolaevich, to summarize, what are your impressions of the conference?

— Overall, my impression of the conference is positive. It is clear that the issue of soil is a genuine concern for the professional community.

However, by the end of the conference, I felt that there is a lack of coordination in this field. It seems that people are engaging in this work out of their own enthusiasm, each in their own way. There doesn’t appear to be a unifying driving force. But if there is one, it certainly wasn’t evident at the conference. Therefore, in the resolution following the conference, the organizers emphasized the need for unification, support, and greater coordination among all interested parties.

In the photo: S.N. Tsygelsnik, Dmitry Alexandrovich Sviridov, agroconsulting expert, chief agronomist-expert of the Grain Soybean Union of the Volga Federal District, candidate of agricultural sciences, and Elena Alexandrovna Sokolova, project manager for “Healthy Soil” at Syngenta

— Sergey Nikolaevich, thank you very much for your trip and your impressions! We wish you success!

— Thank you for actively promoting the topic of soil restoration! I would like to especially highlight the excellent level of the conference organization. A big thank you to the main organizer of the conference, Lyudmila Vladimirovna Orlova!

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