Opinions & Interviews

“Of course, first of all, I am interested in the financial standing of agricultural organizations. Profits and profitability are the priorities. I was informed during the harvest campaign that the prices for products we make are rather good today and we can ensure profitability at the level from 15% to 80%,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

The president asked about the progress in the implementation of Decree No. 253 at the local level. “What are the major effects of this decree? And the main thing is as follows: have you managed to reduce the number of insolvent farms and increase the efficiency of production?” the head of state wondered.

The government suggests introducing a number of amendments to the decree to raise its efficiency. “What was not taken into account? Do we need any norms to make this decree work in compliance with you requirements and to ensure the profitability of work? I would like to know how the amendments to this decree will affect agriculture. Will these amendments be enough for the stable operation of agricultural organizations?” Alexander Lukashenko wondered.

He reminded about the responsibility of government members and specialists for the development of such documents. “Frequent amendments have never been beneficial to those involved in material production, the real production sector,” the president said.

The session also focused on this year’s harvest campaign. He remarked that, according to certain officials of the government and the Agriculture and Food Ministry, it should have been finished by 7 November. “What is the state of affairs today? I want your answer to this question. I want trustworthy information. For example, the State Control Committee has recently informed me about the following fact: ministers are not fully aware of the situation in agriculture or deliberately falsify information about the progress and results of the harvest campaign,” Alexander Lukashenko warned.

The president asked about the preparations for the next spring sowing campaign, the procurement of mineral fertilizers, and the situation in animal husbandry. “Life does not end in 2017. Therefore, we should start preparing for the spring sowing campaign today. In your opinion, what are the prospects for 2018?” he said.

“The year has not been easy, we asked specialists and farmers for help. And they helped to harvest grain rather quickly and productively. Of course, we should thank people. How will we do it? When will we sum up the results of the current agricultural year?” the head of state wondered.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy, Decree No. 253 “Concerning the measures on the financial rehabilitation of agricultural enterprises” was passed in July 2016 and is aimed at restoring the solvency of enterprises in a critical condition. Back then there were 425 such organizations. Of them, 323 enterprises were subject to prejudicial recovery, 102 farms were subject to anti-crisis management.

“The results of work in H1 show that the decree is effect and timely. In H1 2017, 32 organizations restored their solvency and began a normal cycle of work. The solvency coefficient was improved at 131 organizations. It remained the same at 80 organizations and became worse at 68 organizations,” Mikhail Rusy said.