MINSK, 11 February (BelTA) – The agricultural industry makes a a great contribution to the country's economy. The country is food self-sufficient even in the difficult conditions associated with the pandemic, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he addressed the 6th Belarusian People's Congress in Minsk on 11 February, BelTA has learned.
According to the president, the state will not be able to exist if it fails to feed its citizens.
“We are self-sufficient in food, we export a lot of products," the Belarusian leader said. “According to new United States President Biden, today more than 10% of the U.S. population are not getting enough food because of the problems associated with the pandemic (let's be frank it is not just the pandemic). Of these, 12 million are children. And they call themselves an empire. The leading country while its citizens have nothing to eat. What to say about other countries... We have enough food, and we can sell. We have reserves."
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that Belarus has followed the right path having focused on agriculture. “We saved the village, gave the opportunity to work. Agriculture has become a profitable business, however, much remains to be done,' the head of state said.
“Money invested in agriculture was money well-spent. Last year it was the only sector that posted growth, almost 6%. Yet, there are a lot of issues there that we need to address,” said the president.
According to him, it is necessary to introduce new adaptive systems of cultivation and technological regulations, to provide the agro-industrial complex with reliable equipment and to deepen cooperation between farmers. “Farmers, not mediators, retail networks or anyone else, should earn money on agricultural products. We need to show all those mediators their place. They must not feed off farmers. It is very important for the industry, too. We need to eliminate mediators! Profiteers must go away, too. I am not saying to ‘cut out' everyone, but we have many industries where they simply inflate prices,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
