International IAMO expertise in demand

From 21 to 22 November the German Maize Committee e.V. (DMK) hosted its 60th annual conference in Berlin, Germany. In the DMK, farmers as well as representatives of official consulting and administration, science, maize cultivation and agricultural oriented enterprises are active. IAMO researcher Dr. Linde Götz was invited to the "Economics and Markets" committee. In her presentation, the agricultural economist highlighted the latest developments in self-sufficiency in Russian agriculture and the country's prospects for the rise to one of the largest export nations for agricultural goods and food worldwide. Götz pointed out that the Russian government's funding programs have significantly increased the level of self-sufficiency in pig and poultry meat over the past four years. She assumes that after the end of the trade embargo, Russia will be more active as a supplier on the world market. In the case of beef and dairy products, on the other hand, Russia does not yet reach its production targets. Götz sees export opportunities for German farmers, particularly with cheese, since Russian cheese production is characterized by severe quality problems.

On 14 November Dr. Ithiyor Bobojonov was asked to present on "Comparative advantages and disadvantages of mechanisms of agricultural insurances in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan" in front of government representatives from Mongolia. The workshop, organized by IAK AGRAR CONSULTING GmbH Leipzig, was part of a specialist information tour for a Mongolian delegation under the patronage of J. Saule, Vice Minister for Nutrition, Agriculture and Light Industry in Mongolia. The delegation visited Germany in the framework of the German-Mongolian cooperation project "Sustainable Agriculture" from 12 to 19 November. In his presentation Bobojonov explained that the collapse of the Soviet Union had also led to a collapse of the national insurance markets in the region. The agricultural insurance markets in some of the successor states are still insufficient, but there is a great interest by the governments of e.g. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan and international organizations to establish them. The demand from regional insurance companies for international reinsurance is high. In this context Bobojonov referred to the pilot projects for the integration of reinsurance companies from Germany into the regional insurance markets in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.