Russian MinFin wants to reduce funding for agriculture development program after 2016 - dep minister
BELOKURIKHA, Altai Territory. Feb 21 (Interfax) - Russia's Finance Ministry is proposing to reduce financing for the agribusiness sector within the context of the government program for development of agriculture (2013-2020) after 2016, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said at the winter grain conference in Belokurikha on Friday.
He said there are plans to allocate 170 billion rubles under this program in 2014, and nearly 165 billion rubles annually in 2015-2016. "But thereafter is being discussed. From the point of view of the Finance Ministry, we won't be able to expand financing to 2018, it will be at the level of 165 billion-169 billion rubles, and only from 2018 some growth will begin," Klepach said.
However, the position of the Agriculture Ministry and Economic Development Ministry is that "here it is necessary to adhere at least to what is stipulated in the specifications of the program that was approved," Klepach said, adding that the program specifications call for increasing funding to 195 billion rubles by 2017 and to about 218 billion rubles by 2020.