The Department of "Agricultural Technologies and Processing of Agricultural Products" was established in 2002. The faculty staff includes 12 people, among them: 2 professors, 7 associate professors, and 3 assistants. The proportion of faculty members with academic degrees and titles in the graduating department is 75%, and the proportion of doctors of sciences is 16.7%. During 2011-2016, 2 candidate dissertations were defended at the department. Published works include 5 monographs, 1 textbook, and 6 study guides, 3 of which are approved by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. Faculty members have developed 5 electronic educational resources, which are hosted in the local network of Kalmyk State University. There has been significant growth in the volume of research and contract work, with total funding amounting to 5.8 million rubles, and student science projects under the U.M.N.I.K. program receiving 4.4 million rubles. The department has received 5 Russian patents for inventions. Among the faculty awarded high government honors and honorary titles are: A.K. Naturov – Honored Worker of Agriculture of the Republic of Kalmykia, Honored Scientist of the Republic of Kalmykia, Honorary Worker of Higher Professional Education of the Russian Federation, Honorary Worker of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation, and Honorary Worker of the Agro-Industrial Complex of Russia; M.S. Zulaev – Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation. The department’s part-time staff includes: Head of the Sheep Breeding Department at the Kalmyk Research Institute of Agriculture, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor M.S. Zulaev; Dean of the SPO Faculty at Kalmyk State University named after B.B. Gorodovikov, O.N. Konieva; Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor V.E. Barinov. The department offers bachelor's degree training under the main educational program (OOP) in the direction: 35.03.07 – "Technology of production and processing of agricultural products," specializing in "Technology of production and processing of livestock products." Since 2015, master's training has been conducted in the direction: 36.04.02 – "Zootechnics," specializing in "Technology of production of livestock products." Since 2017, master's training will be offered in the direction: 19.04.03 – "Food products of animal origin," specializing in "Food safety, production, and marketing of traditional food products." In 2015, an additional professional educational program "Breeding in meat cattle breeding" was developed and implemented at the department.
Main research directions
The scientific direction (school) is led by Professor, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences V.A. Kokorev on the topic "Metabolism in the organism and optimization of nutrition of agricultural animals." Professor, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences A.K. Naturov is the head of the project "Development and implementation of a production system for obtaining environmentally clean beef in the Republic of Kalmykia using the Kalmyk breed of cattle." The department conducts research under the state assignment of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation "Development of technology for the production of competitive, environmentally clean beef to solve the strategic problem of the country's food security." The funding volume is 1.23 million rubles. Scientific supervisor – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor A.K. Naturov. Implementation period 2012-2014. "Topical problems of socio-economic development of the Caspian region in the conditions of an innovative economy" (contract work). Funding volume – 100,000 rubles. Supervisor – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor A.K. Naturov. Implementation period 2012. "Study of adaptive mechanisms for the arrangement of arid territories with the aim of developing and implementing a system of phytomelioration measures for restoring degraded pastures in the Khulkhutinsky SMC of the Yashkulsky district of the Republic of Kalmykia." Funding volume – 3 million rubles. Supervisor – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor A.K. Naturov, Associate Professor, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences. Implementation period 2012. "Topical problems of agro-industrial complex development in the Caspian region" (contract work). Funding volume – 60,000 rubles. Supervisor – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor A.K. Naturov. Implementation period 2013. "Provision of scientific and methodological assistance in the rearing of young agricultural animals" (contract work). Funding volume – 210,000 rubles. Supervisor – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor A.K. Naturov. Implementation period 2013. From 2013 to 2015, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation project "Personnel for the Region" was implemented. This program of strategic partnership between Kalmyk State University and leading enterprises and organizations of the Republic of Kalmykia is based on the functioning of the network model "Enterprise – University" with elements of a dual system for training highly qualified personnel for the socio-economic development of the region. Implementation period 2013-2015. Total funding volume – 80 million rubles. Head of the agricultural direction project – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor A.K. Naturov. The department is implementing an International European Union grant under the TEMPUS program. Topic: 544132-TEMPUS-1-2013-1-FR-TEMMPUS-JPCK "Development and implementation of a master's program for the preservation and marketing of traditional food products in Russia and Kazakhstan" with funding of 1.2 million rubles. Implementation period 2014-2016. Supervisor – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor A.K. Naturov.
Scientific connections
The department maintains close ties with many leading agricultural universities and research institutions in Russia. Notable collaborations include the Timiryazev Moscow Agricultural Academy, the Agrarian Institute of Mordovian State University named after N.P. Ogarev, Volgograd State Agrarian University, Stavropol, Don, and Kuban State Agrarian Universities, Stavropol Technical University, Volgograd State Technical University, North-Caucasus State Humanitarian-Technological Academy, Moscow Academy of Applied Biotechnology, All-Russian Research Institute of Forage Crops, Volga Research Institute of Meat and Dairy Production of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, All-Russian Research Institute for Agricultural Processing, and others. The department cooperates with laboratories of the Kalmyk branch of the Federal Research Center VNIIGiM and the Wool Laboratory of the Kalmyk Research Institute of Agriculture, using their facilities for specialist training, as well as the State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Black Lands." Annually, students of the department participate in 6-month internships in Germany under the international program LOGOe.V. The program coordinator in Russia is a graduate of the agricultural faculty of KGU, master's student at Hochschule Osnabrück, L.A. Babicheva. Active academic exchange of teachers and students with universities in Kazakhstan continues, notably with the West Kazakhstan State Agrarian-Technical University named after Zhangir Khan. The department has participated in All-Russian competitions of the best food products, raw food materials, and innovative developments held in Volgograd and Saratov, conducted by the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and was awarded 5 diplomas, 5 gold medals, and 1 silver medal in various categories. The author team includes Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor N.N. Moroz; Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor I.A. Nidzhlayeva; Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor E.N. Ochirova; Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor O.S. Sangadzhieva; O.N. Konieva; S.A. Shagdzhikova and others. At the "Golden Autumn – 2016" exhibition held in Moscow at VDNH, a joint work with the Volga Research Institute of Meat and Dairy Production (Volgograd) titled "Innovative developments in the effective use of purebred breeding and crossbreeding in intensive beef production" was presented. The work was awarded a gold medal and diploma for high achievements in the development of pedigree and commercial livestock breeding. The author team included RAS Academician I.F. Gorlov, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences B.K. Bolaev, Professors A.K. Naturov, A.V. Randelin, and others. The Volga Research Institute of Meat and Dairy Production, whose author team includes Professor A.K. Naturov and Candidate of Agricultural Sciences B.K. Bolaev, was awarded a second gold medal and diploma for modern methods of improving breeding and productive qualities of beef cattle. The department hosted three International Scientific and Practical Conferences on the development problems of the agro-industrial complex of the Caspian region and Southern Russia with participation of scientists from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, and the Islamic Republic of Iran.