Opinions & Interviews

MINSK DISTRICT, 1 August (BelTA) – It is necessary to put maximum effort into making sure that the harvest in the country is as large as possible. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko gave the relevant instructions as he was made familiar with the organization of the grain harvesting campaign in Minsk District on 1 August, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko remarked that this year the grain yield in many countries is expected to be much lower due to hot weather. Grain crops have been devastated in Germany and Poland. The situation in France and Spain leaves much to be desired. This year’s grain yield in Russia is expected to be 25% lower than last year’s.

“Certainly, we’ve lost something, too, but not that much: the Lord has been merciful. This is why keep in mind that we will be in no rush to buy grain somewhere. Grain will be available on the market. But the prices will be high and you know what quality fodder we are going to buy. This is why maximum effort is needed to gather in every grain of what we’ve grown as well as corn,” said the president.

Talking to mass media, the head of state stressed that although weather had not been ideal, it had not damaged the fields completely. “There is no need to blame weather. It was not that bad. Certainly, I wish spring would have been less dry. Water was in short supply particularly in southern areas where grain was maturing,” stated Alexander Lukashenko. “We have to be fair. The first hay cutting was good thanks to torrential rains. The hay yield was the largest one on record.”

The president noted that weather conditions had not been difficult in all the regions of the country. Many areas will have great harvest if the grain is collected on time. “It will be the next topic for my travels. We have yet to gather in every grain in Mogilev, in the north and the center of Minsk Oblast, and particularly in Vitebsk Oblast,” he said.

According to preliminary estimates, this year’s grain harvest in Belarus will be 0.5 million tonnes less than last year’s. However, the country has 1.5 million tonnes of grain in storage, pointed out the head of state. “The amount is sufficient to take care of production of milk, meat, poultry, and other things. This is why there are no problems with feeding the nation,” stressed Alexander Lukashenko.

On 1 August the head of state visited fields of 1^st Minsk Poultry Farm where he was informed about progress of the grain harvesting campaign in the country and the region. According to Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats, over 800,000ha has been processed already or some 41% of the land under grain and leguminous crops. As much as 2.5 million tonnes of grain has been collected, with the yield at 28.8 centners per hectare.

Alexander Lukashenko was also interested in details concerning the development of agricultural enterprises in Minsk Oblast and Minsk District. The president was told that some strong agricultural enterprises lack lands to produce the necessary amount of combination fodder. The head of state gave instructions to consider transferring assets of struggling agricultural enterprises to the strong ones in order to improve performance of the former.