On February 10th the project "Lectures at the Polytechnic" an agricultural entrepreneur and an owner of "Forest Gardens” farm Georgy Afanasyev delivered his lecture.
It was the first event in 2017 and it was held within the two-day VyatSU Science Festival. The lecture aroused great interest among both specialists and amateurs of biology, chemistry, agricultural sciences, as well as regular listeners of the project and all those interested in environmental business.
The idea of Georgy Afanasyev’s business is growing food in an environmentally friendly farm and delivering it to people. The basket that is sent weekly to a buyer includes some meat, milk, butter, cheese, fruit, vegetables and greenery. It seems to be as simple, but there is still one feature. The farmer is strongly opposed to the selling stage of his business. "We are not to sell the goods, because it is not a function of a farmer", - the lecturer said. In his business model the buyer pays the money not for purchased food exactly, but for the means of production of this food, that is for seed or young cattle. This is profitable because without any food shops, wholesale suppliers and complicated logistic chains the price becomes much lower than the market one.
An interesting feature of the farm work is that the entrepreneur engages his customers in the production process. One can always come to the farm to follow the working process, to work independently and at the same time to discuss results with the owner and other farm workers.
The topic touched upon by the guest is important not only for people wishing to have or already having business in agricultural sector. "We all are witnesses of the green revolution», - Georgy Afanasyev says. He believes that agriculture will gradually move to the city. And it is absolutely predictable process in a modern urban society. People will grow their food in areas of their living. Now we can observe some introduction of green natural systems into the urban infrastructure. For example so-called "green roofs" already exist on 1500 houses of New York.
In Russia there is an idea of creating chicken farms built in living houses. Such ideas are numerous; we just should find the will to implement them.
Today farming in Russia offers tremendous business opportunities. The geography of the country speaks for itself: our country is the largest in the world. People should study the scientific agricultural basis and start doing what they like.
The lecture produced great impression and caused a lot of questions that indicated the importance and prospects of the "natural economy" issues (especially in the Year of Ecology in Russia).
