MINSK, 28 January (BelTA) – The decree to improve the performance of the agro-industrial complex of Vitebsk Oblast needs to be finalized, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting held on 28 January to discuss ways to improve the situation in the agricultural industry of Vitebsk Oblast, BelTA has learned.
“I ask you to take this maximally seriously. There is no extra money. Today's situation is either we drown or stay afloat. We have everything we need to swim and not to drown. We have to withstand the current difficulties,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “Everything depends on you, people on sites. If Vitebsk Oblast stays afloat, then Mogilev Oblast and Gomel Oblast will survive as well. Minsk Oblast needs to continue its development. The rest of the regions demonstrate sustainable operation,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Vitebsk Oblast “needs a boost”, the head of state added. The president instructed the government to finalize the decree on the agro-industrial complex of Vitebsk Oblast within a couple of weeks.
Chairman of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee Nikolai Sherstnev told the media after the meeting that the concept of the decree is in its title, which is the development of the agro-industrial complex of Vitebsk Oblast. “There are issues that need to be finalized. The president gave two weeks for it. We have little time. The sowing campaign will start in two months. We need to prepare for it,” he said.
According to Nikolai Sherstnev, the main goal of the decree is to free agricultural companies from debts, which have been accumulated for decades, in order to improve their solvency, to keep them as one and serve them during the time determined by the decree.
The decree will also regulate certain aspects of resource zones. “A distinctive feature of resource zones is that the processing company pays for the raw materials supplied by the agricultural company and also transfers part of the added value it receives to the development of this agricultural company. Some 20-30 agricultural companies will be assigned to each industrial enterprise,” said Nikolai Sherstnev.
In his words, such measures will create more favorable conditions for agricultural companies, increase the supplies of raw materials, load processing companies, and increase economic benefits. The decree will cover the operation of 159 organizations of Vitebsk Oblast, including 130 agricultural companies.
