KIROVSK DISTRICT, 28 August (BelTA) – During a working trip to Mogilev Oblast, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko praised the good work of farmers this year despite difficult weather conditions and tight deadlines of the harvesting and sowing campaigns, BelTA has learned.
The head of state was informed about the progress of the harvesting campaign nationwide and in specific regions in detail. According to the Agriculture and Food Ministry, grain and leguminous crops have been harvested from 91% of the areas under these crops, with 8.4 million tonnes of grain (including rapeseed) threshed. Taking into account the contribution of private farming enterprises, Belarus plans to harvest 9 million tonnes of grain (excluding corn) this year. Aleksandr Lukashenko inquired about the progress of the harvesting campaign in Vitebsk Oblast and whether the oblast has enough vehicles and machines, especially with this year’s special situation when due to weather conditions the sowing campaign of winter crops and the harvesting campaign coincided. The president was assured that Vitebsk Oblast is coping with the tasks to a large extent.
The head of state paid special attention to agricultural practices in Minsk Oblast, especially around the town of Berezino where large areas remain unplowed and untended. “A terrible impression,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “The fields have not been plowed at all. As I say, you cannot get in there. They will get overgrown with weeds again, and we will play heroes and spend money on land improvement to put them in order. Therefore, I advise you to drive 3-5km away from the road and see what is going on there.”
The president also gave instructions to complete the sowing of winter rapeseed across the country (this year the campaign was delayed due to weather and partially coincided with the harvesting campaign). “This year the sowing was done almost on time. In previous years I saw that sowing could last a week, ten days, until mid-September. This year… On a tight schedule… In general, farmers are working well this year (compared to previous years). Of course, there are good ones and bad ones, but overall they are doing a good job,” the head of state said.
The president had a detailed conversation with the head of the Diana private farming enterprise in Shklov District Vladimir Malinovsky about this year’s vegetable harvest. According to the farmer, the harvest will be good and certainly not lower than last year’s level. Moreover, at the request of the local authorities, the sowing areas for this crop have been expanded one and a half times this year. In addition, the quality of potatoes is much better now because there was more rainfall. This private farming enterprise meets 100% of the target under the state procurement program (a small part of its total production), exporting the rest and storing it in a modern automated vegetable storage facility.
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