Natalya Kochanova
PINSK DISTRICT, 29 April (BelTA) – Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova visited the Parokhonskoye agricultural enterprise in Pinsk District on 29 April and described the enterprise as an example for retaining young people in rural areas, BelTA has learned.
“The choice of Parokhonskoye was no coincidence. It is our flagship enterprise, which the president has visited. The results here are truly impressive, and people work diligently. I have seen the fields, the salaries, and the working conditions provided here. I have something to compare it with: we have many such farms across the country,” Natalya Kochanova noted. She emphasized that rural workers are the backbone of Belarus’ food security: domestic stores offer a wide selection of products, while a vast range of food supplies is consistently exported.
“We take pride in our food products, and it is thanks to farms like this. Unfortunately, there are others that still require help and support. The president pointed this out during the meeting on the development of Vitebsk Oblast. There is much to be learned from Parokhonskoye,” the speaker of the Council of the Republic believes.
Parokhonskoye has been designated as a benchmark farm, with its technologies and performance indicators serving as a target for other agricultural organizations under the Pripyat Polesie Regional Development Program for 2025-2030. Members of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic studied the enterprise’s experience in managing reclaimed lands. At Parokhonskoye, the standards of crop farming, the reclamation of unused land, and contour farming are at a high level. A green fodder substitute for the off-season was also demonstrated. These grass pellets contain a full range of protein, vitamins, and minerals, comparable to fresh green mass, but offer a significantly longer shelf life and compact size. Such technologies are vital for farms with insufficient fodder resources to ensure proper feed supply during the off-season.
Vladimir Khrolenko is the head of the Parokhonskoye agricultural enterprise. Natalya Kochanova noted his prudent approach to management, highlighting that the head of the farm was a member of the Council of the Republic of the seventh convocation. “He makes sure everything is done in-house so as not to spend extra funds on things like construction. To achieve this, he has his own construction and land reclamation units. Everything is done very quickly, without the high costs of travel or searching for outside specialists. Everything here is done diligently, very clearly and sensibly,” the speaker emphasized.
The agricultural enterprise focuses on economic efficiency and human resources. The current management approaches attract skilled specialists, and there are no issues with staff retention. “This enterprise doesn’t even need to send requests to educational institutions. Why? Because the students who come here for internships see the conditions and choose to stay. They have no staffing issues here. That is the key,” Natalya Kochanova is convinced.
According to her, attractive working conditions and competitive salaries are not enough to retain young people. What is needed is conditions for a comfortable life. “Housing is being built here, and homes are allocated specifically for the employees. And then there’s the social infrastructure. It has everything: an arts school, a school, a kindergarten, a hairdresser, a sewing workshop, and a shopping center. All the conditions are in place for people to live and stay in the countryside,” the chairwoman of the Council of the Republic added.
Natalya Kochanova stressed that one of the strategic priorities of the current five-year period is strong regions. “It is incredibly important to do everything to ensure that people stay and work in the regions, in rural areas. This is the most serious task, about which the head of state said: if we preserve the village, we will preserve our country,” the speaker concluded.
Photos by Violetta Yuzhakova
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