MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin has appointed Alexander Tkachev, governor of the southern Krasnodar region, as Russia's new agriculture minister, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, a move that could strengthen the ministry.
Agriculture is a priority for Putin, who wants to boost domestic food production after he banned many Western imports in retaliation to U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis.
Tkachev, 54, has run Krasnodar, one of Russia's key wheat producing regions, since 2000.
"A true decision-maker has not been in the Agriculture Ministry for a long time," one trader said, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He (Tkachev) would be able to inform the government about farmers' troubles."
Russia's former agriculture minister, Nikolai Fyodorov, was appointed as an adviser to Putin, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Fyodorov led the Agriculture Ministry since 2012, but most of the ministry's main decisions were made by the Kremlin or the government, where Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich is in charge for agriculture.
Kommersant newspaper quoted a source as saying that Putin was not satisfied with Fyodorov's work. However, two sources quoted by Vedomosti newspaper said the former minister wanted to leave the post.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)
