Russian farmers seeking to ride out Western sanctions

Russian farmers seeking to ride out Western sanctions

KHATMANOVO: Yevgeny Shifanov, co-owner of an organic farm, says his business has felt the sting of Western sanctions and he is no longer able to sell his grain to Europe. But the 42-year-old puts on a brave face, saying he is pivoting to ex-Soviet countries such as Belarus as well as domestic clients. “We are more interested in our internal market, our economy,” the co-owner of Chyorny Khleb (“Black Bread”) told AFP. Shifanov’s business-located in the village of Khatmanovo, some 150 kilometers south of Moscow on the banks of the Oka River-is one of numerous small farms that have mushroomed in Russia over the past decade.

Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine has devastated crops and farming in the pro-Western nation and disrupted crucial deliveries from Ukraine fuelling concern about hunger and food prices worldwide. The military campaign also put a major focus on Russia’s own agriculture sector. The country is the largest wheat exporter in the world and has been accused by the West of using grain as a geopolitical tool. While Russia appears to be calling the shots in the current grain standoff with the West, experts say that its own agricultural sector is also bracing for tough times.

At Chyorny