MINSK DISTRICT, 17 February (BelTA) - Increasing greenhouse crop production and expanding the range of greenhouse vegetables remain high on the agenda in Belarus, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said at a meeting to discuss the development of greenhouse farming at the DorOrs company on 16 February, BelTA has learned.
"A year has passed and we gathered here again to review the results of the past work and the progress in the implementation of the decisions that were made on greenhouse farming. In a broader context, we need to consider not only the situation at this enterprise but also the progress in the greenhouse farming strategy of the Republic of Belarus, which was adopted last year," Roman Golovchenko said.
According to him, the goal is clear. It was set by the head of state. In its furtherance the government made decisions to step up the production of vegetables in the off-season period using additional lighting technology.
"In order to achieve the goals, the government has adopted a set of decisions, which includes a preferential lending mechanism, reduced energy tariffs and a possibility for centralized purchasing of material and technical resources to reduce their costs, and so on," the prime minister said.
Roman Golovchenko noted that these measures made it possible to significantly increase the production of cucumbers in the off-season period 2023/2024 and reach virtually complete self-sufficiency in this crop.
"For the first time, we gathered a harvest of tomatoes using the technology of additional lighting in the off-season period, and the harvest was not bad," he added.
"At the same time, increasing greenhouse crop production and expanding the range of greenhouse vegetables (they are not limited to cucumbers and tomatoes) are still increasingly important. In February of this year, the State Control Committee reported on some shortcomings in the implementation of the strategy and recommended that we move faster with measures to reach the necessary volumes of self-sufficiency. These issues require further elaboration. Appropriate instructions have already been given to the Agriculture and Food Ministry and the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade," the head of government said.
There are three items on the agenda. "The first is the implementation of the greenhouse farming strategy for 2023-2027, the results of the first year and the current status. The second item, which is important for people, is the supply of vegetables to the domestic market in the off-season, the prices and the energy tariff policy for greenhouses. The third item is the progress on the way towards our goals and the sufficiency of the measures taken to ensure the effective development of greenhouse vegetable farming in the off-season period," the prime minister said.
