en.Wedoany.com Reported - Since 2020, the Russian government has allocated nearly 500 billion rubles to the "Integrated Development of Rural Areas" state program. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev announced this during a working visit to the Saratov Region. Patrushev stated that over the past period, including this year, total funding for the program has reached nearly 500 billion rubles. Taking this year's allocations into account, the renovations will cover approximately 13,000 settlements across Russia and positively impact the quality of life for 20 million people. More than 6,000 infrastructure projects have already been built or renovated (according to the Russian government website).
During his visit, Patrushev toured the Balakovo District of the Saratov Region, where a new residential area is planned. Under the state program, sewage networks have been installed, natural gas supply systems have been completed, and road construction within the village is ongoing. These measures will fully equip 440 land plots with necessary infrastructure. Since the implementation of the state program, its measures have covered approximately 250,000 rural residents in the Saratov Region.
Natalya Shagaida, Director of the Center for Agricultural and Food Policy at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), stated that the "Integrated Development of Rural Areas" program is very important. Shagaida commented to Agricultural Investor that the program has at least improved life in some villages, but the problem lies in the scattered distribution of Russian villages and varying population sizes, making any funding seem insufficient. The expert believes that establishing guaranteed standards for different villages and specific population numbers by the state would positively impact life in rural areas. Rural residents should have access to minimum standard services where they live. If a village is sparsely populated, they need a larger service package until they reach a larger village, which requires roads. Every village has the right to develop, not just central villages. Shagaida is also convinced that rural life is largely a lifestyle; to work in the countryside, people should be attracted by a life without noise, in harmony with nature, and without urban amenities, otherwise they might want to leave.
The "Integrated Development of Rural Areas" state program was approved by the government in 2019 on the instructions of President Vladimir Putin. The program aims to improve the living standards of rural residents, who account for nearly one-third of the country's population, over 37 million people, and to attract young specialists to rural areas. The program's first target is to maintain the rural population share at 25% of the total population by 2031, which stood at 25.1% in 2023. The second target is to achieve a ratio of 70% between monthly disposable resources of rural and urban households by 2031, compared to 69.7% in 2023. The third target is to increase the share of total comfortable housing area in rural areas to 54% by 2031, up from 44.3% in 2023. The program is valid until 2030 (according to the Ministry of Agriculture website).
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