Russia and Ukraine are making news headlines for all the wrong reasons. This week, Jack Kennedy gives us a flavour of agriculture in Russia and the prospects for potential exports.

The difference between urban and rural Russia is striking. It has similar undertones to many other large countries where rural life has been abandoned as young people follow the money to major capital cities.

It is hard to blame them given the paltry conditions, rural isolation and few if any opportunities. The more established countries of Europe have thriving rural villages and towns where businesses can survive due in no small part to agriculture and related industry. The importance of maintaining farming in rural Europe and beyond is often overlooked.

It’s not until you travel amid rural desolation and abandonment that you fully appreciate the benefits of a thriving agricultural economy aided by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).