Three stories of students from agrotech in the first person

Now agronomists in Russia can receive up to 170–200 thousand rubles. The salaries of such specialists are growing quickly, but the passing grades for these areas at universities are not yet: some applicants look with skepticism at everything with the prefix “agricultural”. We spoke with graduates and students of such faculties who were one step ahead of the trends. They talked about their motivation for learning, starting a business, and new technologies they work with every day.

Anastasia Rychagova: postgraduate student at the Faculty of Soil Science at Moscow State University, founded the startup “Arukey”

I wanted to become a biologist and study ornithology since school. I had a global goal – to enter the biology department of Moscow State University. As a result, I wrote a good Olympiad in ecology and entered the Faculty of Soil Science in this field. Now I understand that it was better this way and the environment is closer to me.

While studying at Moscow State University, I became interested in entrepreneurship: I received an education in management and graduated from the Higher School of Business. All this only strengthened my desire to engage in science, because this way I can create technologies that are useful and necessary for the world.

For me, science is about creating meaning, and entrepreneurship is a way to convey these meanings to people.

When I applied for such an unusual direction, I did not hear any objections or doubts from friends and relatives. Although, when speaking publicly, I didn’t like to say that I was studying at the Faculty of Soil Science: there was a feeling that people didn’t understand what it was. Usually, people think of soil as just the ground under their feet; they don't think of it as a living system that greatly affects us. The popularization of science played a role, and now the more I study this topic, the more I want to tell people about it.

I worked in a laboratory for several years before doing anything else. She started with social design – she launched a non-profit media expedition “How Russia Lives” in the outback. Now the project is already 5 years old, during which time we have filmed material about interesting people from villages in 40 regions of the country. Among the heroes there are people of agricultural professions with projects in this area. Someone is breeding a new breed of horse, someone is engaged in crop production. And today I have reached practical-oriented scientific developments and am developing my startup “Arukey”. Translated from Altai, this means “clean air” – we make purifiers.

The idea appeared during my undergraduate studies. At one of the lectures, the professor said that in living and working areas the air quality can be 2-5 times worse than outside. This is comparable to air quality over highways. However, we do not notice this, because many pollutants are odorless and tasteless. I wanted to solve this problem and create an invention for people.

In my free time from studying, I developed a biosorbent that purifies the air from toxic gases. It would be possible to protect a patent – and that’s it, the scientist’s life was fulfilled. But this way people would not be able to use my development. And I decided to make a full-fledged device – this is how “Arukey” appeared.

I have been developing the biosorbent itself for several years. She took different types of soils and some soil components, made compositions, and then passed toxic gases through them. I researched which option was more effective at capturing contaminants. After this, biotesting was carried out to check its safety for living organisms.

I made “Arukey” in the form of a flowerpot with a living plant: so that it would not only be useful, but also beautiful.

At the start, I used grant funds. There are many opportunities in the agricultural sector to finance new developments and support novice researchers. It is also possible to receive mentoring support, tax benefits and promotion in the media. I registered my business only in December 2022, and received my first revenue in August 2023.

In my projects, I often took people from the Faculty of Soil Science. In my opinion, the student environment is a treasure trove of such contacts. I know many examples when students came up with something during a break, but now it’s a big, serious business.

Now I dream that Arukey air purifiers will spread in Russia, and then in other countries. In general, start-up is fanaticism. And “hardware” (when you have a physical device) is double fanaticism. But when you realize that you may be the only one who solves this problem and can help people with your work, it gives you strength to continue working.

I believe that “Arukey” will become a popular brand, through which even people abroad will know that in our country there are strong scientists who help the world and people around us.

Yukka Gritsenko: studying to become a gardener at the Timiryazev Academy and maintains her own blog about plants

I am studying to become a gardener at the Timiryazev Academy and am collecting a collection of plants. Several years ago I moved to a village in the Moscow region. There I started my blog “Yukkina Dacha No. 3”, where I tell how to grow plants, or simply show my collection. I also have an online store. There I sell grown seedlings and seedlings of unpretentious perennial flowers for the garden.

At first, I sold seedlings from my collection to friends, then I started selling online. After a couple of years, I decided to support practice with theory and went to get a higher education in the agricultural sector. I wanted to increase my expertise for the successful development of a blog and store.

I prepared for the entrance exams for a whole year. I studied on my own, using textbooks and the Internet. I had to re-learn the school curriculum: biology, mathematics, Russian.

I took the entrance exam to the Timiryazev Academy in the summer of 2021: I scored a passing score and entered. Before studying at the Faculty of Gardening and Landscape Architecture at the Timiryazev Academy, I studied to be an economist. In 2004, she even defended her dissertation and received a PhD in Economics. But my passion for gardening is much closer to me. When I realized that the business was expanding, I decided not to hire an outside expert, but to become one. That’s why I’m currently studying part-time in my third year.

I like studying at the academy: I especially love agricultural chemistry and ornamental horticulture. The training is intensive. Already in the third year, we began a scientific experiment, which will be presented in the form of a final qualifying thesis. I chose green cuttings: I am studying the effect of root formation stimulants and the effect of fertilizers on the growth and development of various plants.

Now I combine study with work. In the morning I set aside an hour for theoretical classes, before lunch I communicate with clients and take care of orders, and then I tinker with the seedlings. I am learning to work with different crops, propagating plants both vegetatively and by seeds.

There are more than 1,500 plants in my collection, but I sell only about 500 of them. I buy planting material from different suppliers and always check it for compliance with the variety – this takes 1-2 years.

Every year I buy 100–150 new plants. I plant them and wait for them to bloom. If I like the plant, matches the variety, reproduces well and does not require special care, then I put it up for sale. If not, then it remains only for me and grows in a flowerbed near the house.

The business is developing slowly, the income from it is average. But I have no plans to create a large agricultural holding.

For me, leading and managing a team is something from the “office”, it’s not close to me. I just enjoy my business, which brings me pleasure and a small income.

I know collectors who hunt for rare plants: for example, they order exotic plants from Thailand for a lot of money. I deal with “unpretentious plants for the lazy,” for a low-maintenance garden or a weekend cottage. They are suitable for beginners and grow well in any conditions. My flowers are in a sense part of my philosophy. I don’t like extra work, so the plants don’t need to be watered and fed often. They are not capricious and grow on their own.

Studying helps my activities a lot. Even though distance learning involves a lot of independent work, I still have time for plants and individual research. I like the library at the Timiryazev Academy: I can find a lot of useful things in it. And on experiments, I consult with teachers – no one has ever refused advice and help.

Alexey Trubnikov: Candidate of Biological Sciences, founder and general director of Agronout LLC

I grew up in a family of farmers, so since childhood I wanted to get an education in the agricultural sector. In 1999, I entered the Faculty of Soil Science, Agrochemistry and Ecology at the Timiryazev Academy: I decided that if I understood the three main disciplines, then I would be fine with agronomy. The passing grade was high, but I got in: I had a silver medal and good academic performance.

My family supported me in my choice, although previously agriculture was not really considered prestigious. I was not mistaken in my choice: while studying in Timiryazevka, we had a lot of chemistry and subjects related to agriculture and plant growing.

“You can believe it or not, but those who study at least a little bit will be in great demand in five years. Such specialists will be eagerly sought during the day for a good salary”: these are the words of one of my first university teachers. They made no impression on me at the time. In my mind, an agronomist was a farmer from a neighboring village with a broken Niva, who had no spare parts, no equipment, no fertilizers. How to be an agronomist if there is nothing to “agronomize” with? But by the end of the training the situation had changed a lot. New technology appeared, and income levels increased. The industry began to receive good financing, its profitability increased.

In my second year, I went on an expedition to the Belgorod region: to examine fields and analyze the landscape. There I became interested in soil quality and, after finishing my fifth year, entered graduate school. Then I realized that science was ahead of production: there were no salaries on the market that would fairly cover the level of competencies of graduates. That’s why I opened my own company, Agronout.

We collect data on soils, tell farmers what and how to sow on specific soil, analyze whether there are risks of salinization during irrigation, and whether reclamation is needed (measures to improve land and increase its fertility). We use our own AI-based technologies. We analyze images of territories using computer vision – this increases productivity manifold. Agronout already has more than 40 employees, 8 of them are graduates of the Timiryazev Academy.

We often act as experts, conduct webinars for clients, and continue to engage in science. Our team’s specialists have optimized the processing of more than 1.5 million hectares of fields and helped agricultural producers in Russia and Kazakhstan earn additional money of at least a billion rubles.

Work brings not only pleasure, but also profit. Over the past year, our company earned 105 million rubles. And the potential is huge.

According to our calculations, in just seven years we can occupy 30–40% of the Russian “precision” farming market. And this is already 2.5 billion rubles in revenue per year.