Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 20 July (BelTA) – Belarus’ Vice Premier Mikhail Rusy talked to reporters to share farmers’ forecast for the harvest this year in the face of difficult climatic conditions, BelTA has learned.

The government conference chaired by the head of state discussed the progress in harvesting grain crops and forage for livestock. At present, we are preparing for the most massive works, he noted.

“The number one requirement is quality. No harvester should ever stand idle. I think the harvest of grain crops will be lower than last year. With regards to corn, the quality will be good but the harvest will be 450,000-460,000 tonnes lower than last year. We are looking to conserve 7.800 million tonnes. This will be enough to meet the needs of the livestock industry and to have something left in stocks. Farmers have already started delivering corn for the state needs,” the vice premier said.

According to him, rapeseed crop is expected at about 600,000 tonnes. “This is somewhat lower than last year. The spring rapeseed is of good quality. It benefited from the rains,” said Mikhail Rusy. "The quality of beets seems good (better than last year). In recent days we have seen good increases in growth of corn. Farmers are now harvesting the second crop of grass,” he added.

Forage harvesting was in focus at the government conference. The head of state demanded progress reports in the regions and once again drew attention to the quality and compliance with technology. The main task is to ensure that every agricultural company has necessary stocks to avoid costly transfer between regions and, accordingly, financial losses.