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On April 26, a number of issues related to developing the agricultural sector of the Eurasian Economic Union were discussed by the meeting attendees of the Advisory Committee on Agriculture chaired by Artak Kamalyan, Minister in charge of Industry and Agriculture of the Eurasian Economic Commission. 

In particular, the Review of the state policy in the EAEU States' agricultural sector for 2018-2022 was considered, which defines the legal support for the agreed (coordinated) agricultural policy of the Union, as well as economic conditions for implementing integration processes. The document reflects the issues on the circulation of agricultural and food products relevant for the last years, including the existing obstacles and exceptions in the Union's market, as well as measures introduced at the level of the EAEU and the Member States to restrict the export of agricultural products and food. An assessment of the Member States' potential within the global agri-food system was presented, as well as proposals on promising areas for inter-state interaction in the Member States' agroindustrial sphere were submitted. 

The sides' representatives paid special attention to the issue of availability of agricultural products and food. According to the monitoring results in 2021, this figure was 91.6%. The Union's countries not only cover the consumer demand with their own production, but also have export potential for such goods as grain, vegetable oils and pork. However, a significant deficiency remains in fruits and berries at 48.1%. The monitoring results are available to interested users in the agricultural sector subsystem within the Union's integrated information system. 

Besides, the meeting attendees supported the issue of amending the Methodology for assessing the breeding value of dairy cattle, approved by the Decision of the Commission's Board in 2020. This entails extending the list of breeding traits of dairy cattle, the procedure for measuring them and detailing the process of assessing the breeding value, with due regard to the recommendations of the International Committee for Animal Recording (in terms of appearance, reproductive ability and udder health).

“The introduced amendments will make it possible to determine in a comprehensive and full manner the breeding value of animals according to the traits that have the greatest impact on the economic efficiency of milk and dairy production,” Artak Kamalyan noted. 

The Advisory Committee's members also exchanged views on developing cooperation between the Union countries in the field of conservation and restoration of soil fertility. The relevance of the issue is due to the increasing anthropogenic pressure on soil resources, which are the basis of agricultural production. In particular, according to the FAO estimates, soil erosion could lead to a 10% decrease in crop production by 2050, and the current level of agricultural soil degradation is estimated at 31%.