The Russian Federation Ministry of Agriculture is the cabinet-level agency responsible for support of agricultural production, soil conservation, rural development, agricultural market regulation, and financial stabilization of the farm sector. In addition to being subdivided into functional departments, the ministry supervises the federal service for veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance. Yelena Borisovna Skrynnik was the first female minister of agriculture in Russia, when she was minister from 2009 until 2012. The current minister is Aleksandr Tkachyov.