Five New Varieties Of Lentils Are Being Developed By Ruseed And The Rossorgo Research Institute Under The Federal Scientific And Technical Program For The Development Of Agriculture Until 2030.
The breeding and seed company RUSEED, together with the Rossorgo Research Institute, has begun developing highly productive domestic varieties of lentils.
The corresponding agreement was signed with the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. The project is being implemented under the "Development of Breeding and Seed Production of Grain Crops" subprogram of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for Agricultural Development until 2030.
The project's goal is to create a genetic selection platform for accelerated selection and industrial seed production of lentils, as well as to develop a line of import-substituting varieties for the Russian market and the markets of friendly countries.
The project is being implemented jointly with scientific partners: the Russian Research Institute of Vegetable Crop Protection "Rossorgo," the Chuvash State Agrarian University, and the Samara State Agrarian University. The first stage -developing a lentil speedbreeding technology-has already begun using the infrastructure of the Vavilov Cluster agrobiotechnopark.
By 2030, the project will develop five varieties of green and red lentils with high yield potential, resistance to diseases such as fusarium, ascochyta, and others, as well as climate factors.
In addition to breeding, the project includes marker-assisted selection and the search for molecular markers of herbicide tolerance genes, the development of agricultural technology for cultivating new varieties, and industrial seed production. The cumulative seed production volume by 2030 will reach 1,119.4 tons. A separate focus is on continuing professional education programs related to the project's topic and eight demonstration sites.
"Lentils are a crop with growing demand in both domestic and international markets, but there are currently virtually no domestic varieties that meet the requirements of processors and exporters, as well as climate challenges. Participating in the FSTP allows us to bring together research institutes, agricultural universities, and seed production infrastructure in a single project and cover the entire process-from source material to industrial seed lots," commented Mark Gekht, managing partner of RUSEED.
In 2025, lentil cultivation in Russia increased to nearly 844,000 hectares, and the gross harvest reached a record 889,000 tons, or approximately 685,000 tons in grain equivalent. Following the record expansion in 2025, lentil cultivation will likely decrease in 2026. However, the crop remains widely cultivated: in a number of regions, acreage remains stable or continues to expand, including in southern Russia.
Exports have also reached a historic high. Demand for lentils is growing primarily due to interest in plant-based protein and expanding consumption in Asia. For Russia, exports are an additional driver: over five years, supplies have increased 3.7-fold, reaching a record 320,000 tons in 2025. Russian lentils are in demand in Turkey, Iran, Egypt, India, the UAE, and other countries. In the 2025/26 season, global lentil production is estimated at approximately 10.6 million tons, and consumption at 8.5 million tons. In the 2026/27 season, consumption is estimated at 8.7 million tons, indicating long-term demand for lentils remains strong and continues to grow.
RUSEED is a sponsor of the 33rd International Exhibition of Agricultural Machinery, Equipment, and Materials for the Production and Processing of Agricultural Crop Products, YUGAGRO. Consultations with specialists will be available at the company's booth at YUGAGRO 2026, which is being held at 1 Congressnaya Street, Expograd Yug Exhibition and Congress Complex, Krasnodar.
