Prime Minister Reports on Agriculture Projects

During Parliament's Friday session, Prime Minister J.Erdenebat held a briefing about harvest projects and programs the government is executing through 2017.Prime Minister J.

Erdenebat emphasized that the government expects Mongolian farmers to sow 362,100 hectares of wheat, 15,100 hectares of potatoes, 8,500 hectares of other vegetables, 23,200 hectares of fodder, 28,600 hectares of oil producing crops, and 1,000 hectares of fruit this year.The Prime Minister said that this month the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry organized a national forum that brought together a group of over 500 farmers, agricultural enterprises, farms, and state agriculture officials from the nine districts of Ulaanbaatar and 330 soums in the 21 provinces to discuss agricultural policy, share their opinions, and to adopt new technologies and innovative ways to improve crop breeding.

He noted that the government is buying equipment through a soft loan from the Government of China to improve irrigation efficiency, and that farmers and enterprises are receiving four-year soft loans from the Crop Production Promotion Fund (CPPF). The Prime Minister pointed out that Cabinet agreed to submit a bill to Parliament which includes tax relief measures for entrepreneurs and farmers, as well as the opportunity to import agricultural equipment, plant food, and supplements without being required to pay import tariffs.

He added that as the government executes its policy to promote...