MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. Support of the agricultural sector in Russia at the governmental level will continue, President Vladimir Putin said at his annual end-of-year news conference on Thursday.

"Agriculture has been a national project for a long time. Amounts of support are measured by hundreds of billions of rubles. Support will continue in respect of large estates and farms, across all segments of agriculture," the head of state said.

Certain production growth slowdown in agriculture does not give rise to concerns, he added. 

"Regarding the decline in growth rates, it is present. Are we concerned? No, this is not the point of concern. We do not have ‘hothouse conditions;’ our producers are working in a challenging environment," the President said.