Up-to-date European technologies, Italian nutritive earth, Voronezh bumblebees and Baksan Distric residents' labor are the earnest of successful growing of the most tasteful forcing tomatoes.  KBR President Arsen Kanokov has cut the ribbon in the new hydroponic hothouse today.

To remind, the head of the republic met Massimo Lucchini and Paolo Battistel from Idromeccanica LUCCHINI in January 2008. The parties agreed on opening hydroponic hothouses on gross area of 30 hectares in Baksan Distric. Italians have negotiated before with the head of the District Albert Kazdokhov. When a businessman he visited a production of equipment plant, became familiar with the functioning of the company's hothouses and constructed his own ones on the area of 4 hectares according to European technologies in the town of Nartkala. The experience proved to be a success and when Kazdokhov became the head of the District he suggested constructing hothouses there.

The first stage development that is 10 hectares has been launched today. The rest will have been equipped by the end of the year. The investors of the project are "Agrocom" from Baksan and Kabardino-Balkarian Branch of the State Bank of Russia.

The President of Kabardino-Balkaria Arsen Kanokov together with Albert Kazdokhov and Massimo Lucchini viewed the hothouses and became familiar with the main peculiarities of the European technologies. Specifically, the main advantage of the hydroponic growing is an efficient production: 500 tones per hectare a year that is 20 times more than under natural conditions at minimum usage of chemicals. The fact that the plant is bed out into the sterile stuff, not into the earth allows avoiding the danger of contagion from earth. Besides, Italian nutritive earth is impregnated with all necessary substances unlike natural earth.  

Arsen Kanokov paid attention to the Integrated information center, specifically to the plant nourishment, climate, air humidity which is controlled by a computer. This system allows foretelling and preventing diseases.

The president inquired to what extent the process is mechanized and how many jobs have been created in the hothouses. It turned out that about 200 people work in the hothouses. By the end of the year the figure will have increased to 500. Thanks to the original construction of the hothouse a man works standing upright but not bent when working in the field. According to the agreement reached with the European partners local specialists undergo special training in the Italian city of Mantova. Representatives of Idromeccanica controlled the process of ripening of the first cucumbers and tomatoes yield here.

Tomatoes are green but "Agrocom" has already several contracts signed to sell the production in Moscow, Saratov and other cities. Our tomatoes will start off on a trip along Russia in 8 days. Arsen Kanokov expressed his satisfaction of what he had seen. "Several large projects in agro-industrial sphere are being realized in our republic. Some other ones are being developed.  We shall press the imported fruit and vegetables and replace them with an ecologically pure production of the Russian manufacture. We also aim at organizing processing of fruit and vegetables. Our republic can cover the requirements of Russia up to 20%. We appreciate the contribution of the originator of the project Albert Kazdokhov, Italian partners and Kabardino-Balkarian Branch of the State Bank of Russia who were not afraid to invest money into this project" - the president said.

The guests were surprised not only by the hothouses. Apple orchards will be laid out near the village of Islamei on the area of 130 hectares. 20 hectares have already been densely planted with low trees. Planting density is 3200 trees per hectare. The peculiar feature of the orchards is in the yield ripening rate. The trees planted in April will fruit by the end of September. Crop capacity is expected to reach more than 50 tones per hectare within the first year. In future the figure may rise even up to 100 tones. These arbuscles fructify 25-30 years. 400 workers got jobs in theses orchards. At harvesting time more than 1000 people will work there.

Arsen Kanokov noted that creation of jobs is especially important in times of crisis. According to the president thanks to suchlike investment projects 3000 people are expected to obtain a job in Kabardino-Balkaria.