SMOLEVICHI DISTRICT, 16 August (BelTA) – Seed production plays a crucial role in the development of the agricultural sector and the country in general, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he visited the selection and seed complex of the Scientific and Practical Center for Arable Farming of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) on 16 August, BelTA has learned.
The head of state was shown the selection fields for wheat and leguminous varieties and visited the production unit of the research and practical center for seed material finalization.
The head of state was assured that Belarusian scientists can produce high-quality seeds which go on par with the ones made by the best foreign companies.
“This is my achievement as well. We have preserved agricultural science, and not just in seed production. These are unique people! We have both preserved it and made progress. This is more valuable than gold. People should understand that bread they buy in the store begins with scientists and these land plots,” stressed the Belarusian leader.
The Scientific and Practical Center for Arable Farming of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is working on the selection of 38 types of agricultural plants, production of original seeds of about 140 varieties. In 2021 some 176 varieties of crops produced by the center were cultivated in the fields of the country. They occupied more than 80% of the sown areas, while domestic varieties of winter rye, oats, feed barley, buckwheat, spring wheat and lupine occupied more than 90% of the areas. All registered varieties of the center successfully compete with the best foreign varieties and have high yields and product quality: more than 100 centners per hectare in cereals, 60 centners per hectare in colza, up to 50 centners per hectare in leguminous crops.
