Penza Farmer’s School welcomes 30 new students

On the fifth of October, the Farmer’s School reopened in Penza region. This is a joint project of Rosselkhozbank and the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, where they are taught to launch and conduct profitable agribusiness. This year, 30 people out of more than 50 applicants were selected. Among them are eight veterans and their families. Over the five years of the project’s existence, more than 130 farmers have been trained in the region, and interest in the program is only growing.

Classes are held at the Penza State Agrarian University. Support is provided by Rosselkhozbank and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Penza region. For two months, students will master one of three areas: “Vegetables”, “Meat cattle breeding” or “Agrotourism”. The format combines studying at the university with practice at existing agricultural enterprises of the region.

The program includes financial planning of agribusiness, legal foundations of farming, marketing, cooperation, modern agricultural technologies and digital tools for agribusiness. One of the main results of training is your own business project. Participants will prepare and defend business plans, which can then be used to launch or develop the economy and participate in tenders for state support.

The practical part will be held including on the basis of farms of the Penza region. Students in the field of “Meat cattle breeding” will study the organization of feeding and keeping animals, quality control of feed and other practical issues. Participants of “Vegetables” and “Agrotourism” will also visit the production sites of the region.

The growth of interest is visible in the dynamics: in 2021, the first stream consisted of 25 people, in 2024, more than 30 students completed training, and in 2025 - already 35. Director of the Penza branch of the Rosselkhozbank Yuri Osokin noted that interest in farming in the region remains and is expanding. The number of people who come for specific tools and a plan to create or develop an economy is growing. For five years, the Farmer’s School has become one of the tools for training entrepreneurs for the agro-industrial complex. The Bank helps participants go from an idea to an understanding of financial instruments and state support. Osokin stressed that the result can be measured in numbers: more than 130 farmers have been prepared, and dozens of graduate projects are successfully implemented.

Among the participants of the new stream are veterans of a special military operation. Benefits are provided for them in the competitive selection. The opportunity to master the agrarian business to the participants of the SVO and their families in the Penza region provides from 2025.

Training is one of the tools for preparing for state support. As a result, graduates receive a diploma of professional retraining and additional points when participating in grant competitions. In 2025, the graduates of the project received three grants from Agrostrap. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture of the Penza region Roman Kalentyev noted that it is important for a novice farmer to understand not only the production technology, but also the available support measures at the start and during the development of the economy. The region has a system of state support for small forms of management, and one of the tasks of the Farmer’s School is to help participants prepare projects that meet the requirements of such programs. Additional points give graduates an additional opportunity to implement business plans. Kalentyev expects that the new participants will put the knowledge into practice and add to the number of successful farms in the region.

In total, 73 regions of Russia participate in the new stream, 2,130 students were admitted to study. This is a record scale stream of the program. More than 550 SVO veterans and their family members were enrolled as a priority. Since September 2020, when the project was opened, the Farmer’s School has covered 83 regions in eight federal districts and trained more than 12,000 farmers in 50 specializations. Conducted 13 streams, or "waves," of training. In October 2026, the 14th wave began. In the Penza region, the project is carried out with the participation of the Penza GAU and the regional Competence Center in the field of agricultural cooperation and support of farmers. In 2026, the new flow became the sixth for the region, training will be completed in December 2026.