SHKLOV DISTRICT, 20 June (BelTA) – As part of a working trip Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko was made familiar with winter barley and colza farming in the famous experimental presidential fields in his birthplace area near the agrotown of Alexandria, Shklov District, Mogilev Oblast in the morning on 20 June. Conversations with government officials and scientists continued during a working dinner, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko invited guests to his native house in Alexandria. Only foodstuffs made by the local agricultural company OAO Aleksandriyskoye and dishes cooked in a wood furnace according to traditional recipes were put on the table.
Taking into account the hot weather, dinner was laid out in a gazebo outside.
BelTA reported earlier that upon arrival at the field where different varieties of winter barley had been sown as an experiment, the head of state stressed that today is a historic and crucial moment in agriculture. The president said that he grew up in these places at the junction of Mogilev Oblast and Vitebsk Oblast and he tries out various new approaches to agriculture here. “This is how the president's field took shape. Today is a historic moment. If anyone thinks that we have met here to talk and show off once again, specialists will understand that this is not the case,” he said.
The president recalled that he dared raise the matter of winter barley cultivation last year. Winter barley is harvested before other cereal crops are. It allows quickly getting fodder for livestock farming and more evenly deploying and testing equipment ahead of the main harvest.
“I think we should get back to more serious winter barley farming so that we would not stress about headed cereals like we always do. When I made this tough decision last year, I was concerned only about one thing: whether we would be able to achieve more than yields. We need good quality grain. If we get 10 million tonnes, we will be happy. In the same areas under crops without reducing the volume of colza and other crops. In other words, through intensive farming,” the president said.
“This year has shown that winter barley is a miracle. First of all, I have never seen such fields of winter barley. Secondly, I have not seen many fields of headed cereals like this. I am here for the third time. I was here when crops were sown, when crops sprouted above the ground, and now during grain formation. I am definitely convinced that we need winter barley,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
Colza cultivation was another item on the agenda of the president's working trip. Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed the great importance of this crop for agriculture and financial benefits for agricultural workers.
“This will turn the tide in agriculture. This is why we need to cultivate both winter barley and colza,” he said.
