Penza, 1 March 2017. PenzaNews. In 2017, it is planned to increase maize sown areas in the Penza region by 7,000 hectares. This was reported by the regional minister of agriculture Andrei Burlakov at the meeting of the association of regional agricultural producers, which was held on Wednesday, March 1.

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The head of the department added that it is also planned to increase sown areas intended for new but promising leguminous crops – lentil and chick-pea – by almost 6,000 hectares.

"When it comes to technical crops, it is expected that sugar beet and sunflower sown areas are increased," the minister of agriculture of the Penza region said.

According to Penzastat data, in 2016, workers harvested about 99,933 tons of maize in the Penza region, which equals to 91.6% compared to the previous year. This indicator was calculated including large, medium, and small agricultural enterprises and exclusive of farms and cooperatives.