MOSTY, 2 November (BelTA) – Belarus needs to at least double rapeseed production, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a ceremony to honor agricultural workers at the Dazhynki 2024 festival in the town of Mosty on 2 November, BelTA has learned. Speaking about the agricultural achievements of Grodno Oblast, the president paid special attention to the rapeseed harvest. This year it was a record high in the region. The region had a gross harvest of 287,000 tonnes with an average yield of 40 centners per hectare. "Some 30 years ago we started out with 6,500 tonnes!" he said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that at that time no one believed in rapeseed and he literally forced it on those who did not want to think strategically. The head of state urged scientists to breed domestic winter varieties. "We did it!" Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Today Belarus is associated with endless yellow fields. You travel around the country and it smells of honey. Rapeseed became the second ‘gold’."
Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that at that time no one believed in rapeseed and he literally forced it on those who did not want to think strategically. The head of state urged scientists to breed domestic winter varieties. "We did it!" Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Today Belarus is associated with endless yellow fields. You travel around the country and it smells of honey. Rapeseed became the second ‘gold’."
Therefore, according to the president, a crystal bison statuette filled with rapeseed oil gifted by Grodno has taken its place of honor in the exposition of the Palace of Independence.
"This is really the crop of the present and the future. After all, rapeseed is not only a food product, but also mixed feed, biodiesel, raw materials for the confectionery and cosmetic industries," the Belarusian leader stressed.
Belarus is now among the top 10 world exporters of rapeseed oil. It produces about 1 million tonnes and earns more than half a billion dollars on its export a year. It even exports seeds of its own selection, which were almost non-existent a quarter of a century ago.
"But let's be honest: our capacities to manufacture this unique product, comparable or even superior to olive oil for us, enable us to produce twice as much. Probably we do not promote it hard enough. Belarusians should have rapeseed oil on their tables not olive oil. I have, and I urge you to do the same. Agrarians all over Belarus should at least double the production of this crop," the head of state said. “Rapeseed is our export potential. As long as there is a demand for some products on the market, they must be produced and sold."
"This is really the crop of the present and the future. After all, rapeseed is not only a food product, but also mixed feed, biodiesel, raw materials for the confectionery and cosmetic industries," the Belarusian leader stressed.
Belarus is now among the top 10 world exporters of rapeseed oil. It produces about 1 million tonnes and earns more than half a billion dollars on its export a year. It even exports seeds of its own selection, which were almost non-existent a quarter of a century ago.
"But let's be honest: our capacities to manufacture this unique product, comparable or even superior to olive oil for us, enable us to produce twice as much. Probably we do not promote it hard enough. Belarusians should have rapeseed oil on their tables not olive oil. I have, and I urge you to do the same. Agrarians all over Belarus should at least double the production of this crop," the head of state said. “Rapeseed is our export potential. As long as there is a demand for some products on the market, they must be produced and sold."
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