Working trip to Brest Oblast

The harvest campaign is in full swing, but it is needed to step efforts, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his working trip to Brest Oblast on 10 August.

Aleksandr Lukashenko visited OAO Kvasevichi in Ivatsevichi Ditrict. There he was greeted with a loaf of fresh-baked bread because Brest Oblast has already harvested 1 million tonnes of grain.

“I see that the harvest campaign is in full swing, everything is alright, but it should be accelerated by 10-15%,” the head of state said.

The president was informed about the social and economic development of the region in general and the enterprise in particular, weather conditions and measures taken to reduce harvest losses. Aleksandr Lukashenko was also informed about he delays in delivering pelletized potash fertilizers to farms. “The government should make a decision immediately. The demand for fertilizers should be satisfied,” the head of state instructed.

The President also spoke about the provision of fuel to farms. Aleksandr Lukashenko urged to step up control over the efficient use of fuel.

In general, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Belarus hopes to harvest about 10 million tonnes of grain crops together with rape and corn. “We will harvest half of the grain by evening,” the Belarusian leader said.

It was noted that Brest Oblast has a good rape harvest this year. The head of state remarked that rape yield should reach 30 centners per hectare next year.

Flax growing was also discussed. Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that flax processing factories should work at full capacity.

All Belarusian regions but for Vitebsk Oblast should finish the harvest campaign by 20 August. “As far as Vitebsk Oblast is concerned, I will say the following: the Vitebsk Oblast administration, the governor should stop reassuring us. If we see that there is good grain there, we must provide additional equipment to them. Therefore, we are harvesting grain, delivering it to grain elevators, processing it without hurting farmers. We must clear the harvest,” the President said.

The head of state was informed that the government grain procurement contract will be fulfilled. “We want to procure 860,000 tonnes. Let’s agree that there will be 1 million tonnes or a bit more. But we need good grain, maybe we will sell something, refresh old grain reserves. Old grain can be used as fodder. There should be new grain reserves because we have good grain this year,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

During the visit to the renovated dairy farm Kvasevichi, the President instructed to finish the construction of dairy farms in Belarus in 2017-2018. “We still need to build not many farms. We need an estimated total of $80 million. But when we start construction, $50 million will be enough,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President said that enterprises can use any methods they like for building dairy farms. However, cost efficiency and quality are the main priorities.

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that new farms should have heavy milking cattle. It is also important to focus on fodder preservation.

The President was informed that there are over 4,100 dairy farms in Belarus. Of them, 1,181 farms have been rebuilt and modernized. Over 120 farms are almost ready. It is expected that the state will help finish the construction of those farms.

Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that several years ago when the project to renovate and build farms was launched in Belarus, the opposition criticized that decision. “The conclusion is clear: if we had not made that decision, we would have lost our agriculture,” the president said. It was remarked that today even struggling farms selling dairy products are able to pay salaries to their workers. They even have money for other urgent needs.

After the visit to the dairy farm Kvasevichi the President decided to change his route and pay an off-schedule visit to the struggling farm Kossovo. The first stop was made in one of the Kossovo’s fields. There Aleksandr Lukashenko familiarized himself with the harvesting of grain and talked to local harvester operators – the Khoruzhys family. When the head of state asked if they manage to harvest as much grain as they did last year (1,100 tonnes) in 2017, Nikolai Khoruzhy answered that it is feasible. Aleksandr Lukashenko presented flowers to Irina Khoruzhaya and wished every success to the married couple.

Then Aleksandr Lukashenko visited the dairy farm Storozhovshchina which has been in the process of financial recovery for two years. The head of state instructed the government to find Br200,000 to upgrade the farm. This should be done by November 2017, he stressed. Besides, there was a task to almost double dairy cattle number to 1,000.

The President promised to return to OAO Kossovo in November to inspect the fulfillment of his instructions.

The head of state will continue his working trip to Brest Oblast on 11 August. He will be informed about the social and economic development of Brest, the construction of new residential areas and social infrastructure objects in the city.