Makhachkala, December 14, 2015. Dagestan agricultural producers have finished the rice harvesting campaign. The yield eventually reached 70.4 thousand tons, approx. 45.6 quintals per hectare, the republican Ministry of Agriculture and Food informs.

The official of the ministry added that the republican authorities recently rendered significant assistance to the producers of rice, especially within the framework of the import substitution program.

The authorities gave grants for capital repair of rice paddies, irrigation cleaning and drainage system linked to the engineering systems. With these steps in the year past, the area of plantations of rice has increased by 4 thousand hectares.

In the current year the area of plantations increased by 2.5 thousand hectares. Nowadays, the rice fields occupy the area of 15.4 thousand hectares. It is expected that the area will increase up to 20 thousand hectares as part of the priority project "Effective AIC".