GRODNO OBLAST, 19 October (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko began his working visit to Grodno Oblast on 19 October with the discussion of the situation in the agricultural sector, BelTA has learned.
Governor Vladimir Kravtsov briefed the head of state on the situation as a whole, focusing on the under-performance in terms of grain harvest. Bad weather in May and June had a negative impact on crop production. Crop harvest was less compared with the one last year: 1.150 million tonnes of grain, corn included, while the target was 1.5 million tonnes.
The governor said that the shortage of fodder grain may result in insufficient forage resources and added that this issue needs an immediate solution.
Alexander Lukashenko said: “We need to look into the country's reserves. The reserves are good and perhaps we can lend some to Grodno so that the region does not have to buy grain. In the future Grodno Oblast will make up for it.” The head of state suggested a careful look into the situation.
A prudent approach to economic management in all areas was in the center of attention during the president's visit to the agrotourism center Korobchitsy of the Grodno meat factory. The president emphasized the need to develop villages, including in the area of agrotourism.
The head of state got familiar with the infrastructure of the agrotourism center which draws some 2,000 visitors, including foreigners, on weekends. The president watched artisans working and tried his hand at woodcarving.
The Grodno Oblast authorities also updated the head of state on the prospects to further develop the city of Grodno, its infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and junctions.
In addition to its main line of business, Grodno Meat Packing Plant is also engaged in the development of agrotourism. In 2001 it launched a project to build the agrotourism center Korobchitsy 5km away from Grodno. It is stylized as a manor of the 19th century. The center welcomed first visitors in May 2005. It is an open-air museum on the territory covering more than 50 hectares. It houses a blacksmith's, a stable, a small zoo, playgrounds, cafes and Zevany Castle restaurant which became winner of the national contest of culinary art and service in 2011.
Last year saw the start of a project to develop an arboretum with more than 400 species of trees, shrubs and plants growing in Belarus. The pride of the agrotourism center is the Amadeus equestrian club. The stable has valuable elite breeding livestock of various breeds of horses, some the only ones in Belarus.
Annually the center hosts events dedicated to the Victory Day, Children's Day, and also Christmas fairs and Maslenitsa. It has become a tradition to hold the annual international plein-air of woodcarvers. The center has all conditions for holidays and official negotiations. In particular, in 2015 it played host to an informal part of the meeting of the EAEU Heads of Government.
A new tourist attraction opened nearby in 2011. This is the historical and cultural complex “Grodno Fortress – Partisan Camp” set up based on the recollections of the war veterans and with assistance of professional museum workers.
