Your field of play

More than eight hundred participants, over forty thousand square meters of exhibition space and nine thematic clusters - the regional Ministry of Agriculture held the Kuban Fair in Krasnodar - 2026. In sixteen years, the region’s major agricultural event has grown far beyond conventional trade. Today it is an opportunity for small farms to meet directly with buyers and potential partners, find new markets, and for the authorities to discuss with the farming community the problems of the industry and the necessary support measures.

Product scale

In the exhibition center "Expograd South" gathered farmers, agricultural producers, owners of personal farms and nurseries, craftsmen from all municipalities of the Krasnodar Territory. On the shelves - meat and fish, seafood, cheeses and sausages, dairy products, vegetables and fruits, honey. Separate rows are reserved for seedlings of fruit trees, flowers and handicrafts.

The Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Veniamin Kondratiev, together with the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Kuban Yuri Burlachko, visited the exhibition, inspected dairy, meat, fish and wine rows, pavilions with garden plants and equipment, talked with manufacturers.

Agricultural products of Kuban are a bright and recognizable image of the traditional food basket of all residents of the country. Our farmers grow a wide variety of crops and produce high-quality food products that are in demand both on the tables of residents and guests of the region and far beyond its borders. Despite modern challenges, we maintain small local productions because not all farmers can access large retail chains. Therefore, we hold such agro-industrial exhibitions, as well as weekend fairs. To support farmers, it is important to significantly increase the number of fairs and hold them on a permanent basis in all municipalities of the region. This will help remove intermediaries and give farmers the opportunity to directly offer their products to customers, said Kuban Governor Veniamin Kondratiev.

Direct contact of the manufacturer with the buyer remains one of the main tasks of such sites. For a small farm, participation in a large exhibition makes it possible not only to sell products on the days of its holding, but also to declare themselves, expand the circle of buyers and find partners.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Processing Industry of the region, more than one and a half million people visited the Kuban Fair for sixteen years. For a number of local manufacturers, participation in it became the starting point for the development and scaling of the business.

Sign opens doors

A separate territory this year is occupied by the exposition “Made in Kuban”. On six hundred square meters there are goods of thirty-two enterprises - winners of the regional competition in the field of quality.

The range shows how widely the concept of local production is today: next to cheeses with noble mold, meat delicacies, bread, confectionery, honey, vegetables and fruits, textiles for newborns, cosmetics, household chemicals, wood products are presented.

The exposition “Made in Kuban” is an effective tool to support local producers. During the competition, hundreds of manufacturers were able to enter new markets, expand production and strengthen customer confidence. From year to year, interest from both participants and guests is growing – this is the best indicator of the demand for the project, said Roman Kurinny, Head of the Consumer Sector Department of the Krasnodar Territory.

A rich business program is also provided for participants. Within four days, seminars, round tables and meetings devoted to the development of small and medium-sized agribusiness are held. The program also included the fourth regional competition “Cheese masterpieces of Kuban” and awarding the winners of the competition for the title “The best settlement for the development of small business in the agro-industrial complex of the Krasnodar Territory”.

Support per hectare

Another important part of the program was the meeting of the head of the region with the farming community. It was also attended by the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Kuban Yuri Burlachko and heads of regional departments.

At the center of the conversation was the current situation in the agricultural sector. This year, farmers harvested a large grain harvest, but difficulties with its implementation due to the limitations of the port. The region has introduced a state of emergency, which allows to use additional mechanisms of assistance to farms and support them before the sowing campaign.

- In 2026, the regional budget provides about six billion rubles for the development of the agro-industrial complex, but we understand that these funds are not enough now. We harvested a large crop of grain, but faced with the problem of its implementation due to the limitations of the ports. Therefore, a state of emergency at the regional level has been introduced, which will support farmers and help them carry out sowing works. We envisaged additional measures worth about five billion rubles. The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia is working on additional hectare support in the form of reimbursement of costs for sowing winter crops - about three thousand rubles per hectare. At the regional level, we introduce a similar subsidy for farmers and small agricultural enterprises - three thousand rubles per hectare. We will recapitalize the Regional Microfinance Fund to issue preferential loans to small and medium-sized farms up to five million rubles at a rate of 0.1 percent per annum. We will provide a deferment for a year on existing loans of the fund for farmers, deferment of rent for land. These measures are already ready for implementation, Veniamin Kondratiev said.

Thus, a new package of measures is added to the funds provided for in the regional budget for the development of the agro-industrial complex, which will allow Kuban farmers to go through a difficult period and prepare for a new round of field work. It includes a hectare subsidy, concessional financing, as well as deferral of existing loans and rent.

Benefits go into the field

Some of the tools are already available to farmers. Small and medium-sized farms can receive preferential loans of up to five million rubles at a rate of 0.1 percent per annum in the regional microfinance Fund. To receive a deferment on existing loans, you must submit an application to the Fund, details can be found by calling 8 (861) 298-08-08 or by e-mail info@fmkk.ru.

There is also a delay in rent payments for land for 2026 - they must be made until the fifteenth of November 2028. During the period of the delay, penalties and interest for the use of other people's funds will not be accrued. To receive it, tenants must apply.

Regional initiatives were continued at the federal level. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Russian government supported the proposals of the Krasnodar Territory: export duties are canceled, a moratorium on the bankruptcy of farmers is envisaged, the region will also be included in the mechanism of subsidizing railway transportation of agricultural products.

During the meeting, representatives of the farming community separately noted the importance of decisions made during difficult periods for the industry. The head of the regional Association of peasant (farmer) farms and agricultural cooperatives of Russia Alexander Shipulin thanked the Governor of Kuban for his support and recalled that the introduction of the emergency regime in 2025 helped farms cope with the effects of drought. The participants also discussed the implementation of the current crop, the upcoming sowing campaign and possible additional tools to help various areas of agriculture.

Four days for your own

The Kuban Fair was held in Krasnodar from the twenty-fourth to the twenty-seventh of September inclusive. In addition to the commercial and business parts, a cultural program and master classes of folk art were prepared for visitors.

Over the years, the exhibition has actually become a meeting place for several parties at once: manufacturer, buyer, business and government. Here, a small farm gets an opportunity to reach a large audience without intermediaries, entrepreneurs are looking for partners, and issues that today determine the work of the agricultural industry are discussed directly with those who work on the land every day.

If earlier the main result of the fair could be considered a successful trade, today its scale is measured not only by the number of buyers at the shelves. For farmers, this is also an opportunity to get a new sales channel, find business contacts and use support tools that help to preserve the economy and continue development.