MINSK, 15 January (BelTA) – While making the decision to appoint Aleksandr Rogozhnik as Vitebsk Oblast governor, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the necessity of ensuring the preservation of cattle, especially young livestock, BelTA has learned.
Outlining the main tasks for the new head of the region, the head of state focused on solving the problem of livestock loss. “You need to deal with this properly. I want to warn you: God forbid I hear reports of young livestock loss,” the president said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also said that the government is planning to hold a meeting, including on the situation in agriculture. “We will examine the situation in all regions. We have plenty of problems in Mogilev Oblast, Vitebsk Oblast, Brest Oblast, and Grodno Oblast, and in Minsk. These problems occur everywhere. But in Vitebsk Oblast, they are flourishing and multiplying.”
“Therefore, I warn you right away: God forbid I receive a report or I see, no matter how you try to hide it, the loss of young animals. Distribute them among households, do whatever it takes, but you must save and protect the foundation of your future salaries and incomes,” the head of state stressed.
According to him, the prime minister has been instructed to provide Vitebsk Oblast with everything necessary to organize proper conditions for keeping calves, which is of particular importance during the winter frosts. Calves should not be kept in plastic boxes out in the open, but at least under a roof.
For now, as the president noted, there are plenty of examples of heartless treatment of animals in agriculture. The head of state instructed the responsible officials to pass on information about these and other previously identified shortcomings to the new head of the region. “As a person who has worked in industry, he will be horrified when he sees such instances,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Among the priority tasks in the agricultural industry for Vitebsk Oblast, the president identified the construction of dairy farms, as well as beef and pig breeding and fattening complexes. “If I remember correctly, we used to produce up to half a million tons there. Today we should plan for a little more,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
In this regard, Vitebsk Oblast can fully count on assistance from the state. “We will help, but we must know where the state funds will be directed and, most importantly, what the returns will be,” the president emphasized. “It is unacceptable that we built complexes (hundreds have been built across the country) and they are not filled with good livestock. And if some complexes are filled, the cows there produce as much milk as goats. One has to ask, why did we build these complexes?”
“Therefore, it is correct that the targets for the complexes have been set: seven thousand kilograms of milk per cow and above. There is no other way,” the head of state added. In this context, he warned against attempts to inflate figures and falsify data: “I warn you that lying is unacceptable. Aleksandr Nikolayevich [Rogozhnik], there must be no lying. It is unacceptable.”
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