AGATU conference shapes Yakutia's agricultural future

Yakutia's AGATU hosts landmark conference on agricultural and forestry innovation by 2050

Arctic State Agrotechnological University (AGATU) has hosted events marking the 85th birthday of Yakutia's first president and former Minister of Agriculture of the Yakut ASSR, Mikhail Nikolayev, as well as the 100th anniversary of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (YASSR). The program included a strategic session, "Prospects for the Development of Yakutia's Agro-Industrial Complex," and the all-Russian scientific-practical conference with international participation, "Strategy and Prospects for Agro-Technological and Forestry Development in Yakutia by 2050" (the Nikolayev Readings), reports the Yakutia 24 news agency, citing the regional Ministry of Agriculture's press service.

The ceremonial opening featured welcoming remarks from AGATU's acting rector, Valery Fyodorov; senior aide to Yakutia's state advisor Mikhail Nikolayev, Sergei Popov; Agriculture Minister Alexander Atlassov; Doctor of Agricultural Sciences and Professor Afanasy Chugunov; Deputy Rector for Sustainable Development of Arctic Territories at North-Eastern Federal University, Yuri Danilov; and acting director of the Yakut Research Institute of Agriculture, Mikhail Cherosov.

"We emphasize Mikhail Nikolayev's immense contribution as Yakutia's Minister of Agriculture in the early 1980s to the intensive development of the agro-industrial sector under the region's challenging natural and climatic conditions," noted Minister Atlassov. "During the transition from a planned to a market economy in the early 1990s, he made the difficult but pivotal decision to transfer state farm assets—including agricultural land—directly to rural workers. This move ensured self-employment in the countryside and prevented the closure of a single farming village in Yakutia."

The strategic session took the form of roundtable discussions focused on the future of Yakutia's agro-industrial complex. Participants included professionals from the sector, educators, Ministry of Agriculture representatives, and affiliated organizations.

Four roundtables were organized, covering: - "The Present and Future of Yakutia's Agricultural Schools by 2050," - "Challenges and Development of the Education System for the Agro-Industrial and Forestry Sectors by 2050," - "Strategy and Prospects for Agro-Technological and Forestry Development in Yakutia by 2050," - "The Concept of Establishing a Model Farm Named After S.P. Barashkov in the Village of Kachikattsy, Yakutia."

Nine thematic sections of the Nikolayev Readings conference have begun their work following the strategic session. The key objective of this research-to-practice conference is to explore pathways for developing Yakutia's agribusiness sector and addressing its most pressing challenges.

Participants included school students, university and vocational college students, as well as researchers and professionals from various organizations and research institutes, joining both in person and remotely. Organizers received over 260 applications, with participants representing a broad geographic range across Russia—including Moscow, Leningrad, Voronezh, Arkhangelsk, Irkutsk, Vladimir, and Vologda regions; Khabarovsk, Kamchatka, and Krasnoyarsk territories; and the republics of Mari El, Tatarstan, and Sakha (Yakutia). The event also welcomed a delegation from Kazakhstan.

The conference highlighted critical topics such as agrarian education and the historical development of agriculture, challenges and prospects for engineering and thermal energy in agribusiness, the economics and digital transformation of the sector, modern livestock farming, the role of veterinary science in food security and environmental protection, agricultural processing technologies, forestry and land management, and advancements in crop science, plant breeding, seed production, and arable farming.

To conclude the day, organizers recognized participants and winners of the Nikolayev Readings, followed by a plenary session with moderators and attendees of the strategic session to summarize the outcomes of four roundtable discussions. The meeting featured feedback and new proposals, with a supplementary resolution to be submitted for interagency approval.