The first vegetable-growing agricultural cooperative has been established in Kalachinsky district

The initiator of the creation was a young farmer Denis Kobzev, who started growing and purchasing potatoes from the population.

An agricultural cooperative is one of the organizational and legal forms of farming. It is an organization created by agricultural producers for joint production or other economic activities based on combining their property contributions in order to meet the material and other needs of cooperative members.

In May 2017, the Kulikovo Agricultural Union agricultural cooperative was established in Kalachinsky district to purchase and sell vegetables from owners of personal farms. The cooperative included 12 initiative people from among the farms and private farms, who initially decided to take up potatoes. The initiator of the creation was a young farmer Denis Kobzev, who received in 2016 a grant for the creation and development of a peasant farm in the amount of 3 million rubles, bought 50 head of Kazakh white-headed cattle, of which 30 heads of heifers and 20 bulls. Daily weight gain today is about 700-800 grams. The farmer decided not to stop there and gathered like-minded people to create an agricultural cooperative specializing in vegetables.

The members of the cooperative are engaged in the purchase of potatoes from private subsidiary farms, ready to sell their surpluses for a good price. The price per 1 kg ranges from 10 to 12 rubles. So far, potatoes have been purchased in 4 municipal districts, and in the future they plan to purchase them in all districts of the Omsk region.

According to Denis Ganin, the financial director of the agricultural cooperative, the first sale of potatoes purchased from the population begins today and the economic benefits are already tangible. "During processing, reputable organizations need potatoes – these are rest homes, schools, kindergartens. Our task is not only to buy potatoes, but also to sell them profitably. At the moment, our potatoes are being delivered to the Kolos sanatorium, where we have delivered 30 tons," says Denis Ganin. In addition, Omsk potatoes are supplied to the North and Northeast (Surgut, Urengoy, Chita, Vladivostok and other major cities). The cooperative has preliminary agreements with customers, for example, with Kazakhstan and Central Russia.  The wholesale price can be up to 20 rubles per kg. After all, Omsk potatoes are the most delicious and environmentally friendly. In the Kalachinsky agricultural cooperative, potatoes are processed, sorted, dried and packaged in nets. It is stored in a special vegetable storehouse, which is located in the city of Omsk.

Denis Kobzev, the head of the farm, believes that if the owners of private subsidiary farms know that their potatoes will be bought, they will plant more and fill all available land with potatoes.

Currently, potatoes are supplied to large retail chains, where processed marketable potatoes are in demand. This year, the participants of the agricultural cooperative purchased 330 tons from 7 farmers and 180 tons of potatoes from the cooperative members. The main profit from the sale of potatoes is planned to be received towards the end of 2018. Today we have invested 1.5 million rubles in the creation of our agricultural cooperative. 

In the near future, the members of the agricultural cooperative plan to build a modern vegetable storage facility in the village of Kulikovo, Kalachinsky district, using the latest technologies for storing and processing not only potatoes, but also carrots, cabbage, onions, garlic and other vegetables in the amount of 3 thousand tons. In 2018, they plan to apply for a grant in the amount of 70 to 100 million rubles for the construction of a vegetable storage facility for 10 modules.

As Pavel Veselov, chief specialist of the Processing and commodity market Department of the regional Ministry of Agriculture and Food, noted, cooperation is social support for personal subsidiary farms. The Kalachinsky agricultural cooperative, specializing in vegetables, will become an incentive and an example for others. "If there is a market, then there will be a supply, and the federal support provided for the creation of agricultural consumer cooperatives will help implement other plans."