Meeting to discuss Belarus’ pig breeding industry

Issues related to the country’s pig breeding industry were discussed at a government meeting hosted by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 4 September.

According to the head of state, the state of affairs in livestock breeding will become the main topic for discussion during the upcoming onsite nationwide conference. Today's meeting was seen as one of the first steps to prepare for the event.

“Due to the existing problems in the country's pig breeding, today we will separately consider the situation in this important area of the agro-industrial complex, which accounts for a quarter of the country’s total meat production,” the President said. “The performance in the industry has been negative over the past two years, which causes great concern. The situation has demanded its consideration at the highest [Presidential] level.”

Describing the current situation, the head of state cited some statistical data. Pig production (cultivation) has decreased by almost 12% over the past two years. The production volumes are not even close to those planned in the state program Agrarian Business 2021-2025. Pig production has reduced in all the regions, and has halved in Gomel Oblast.

The number of pigs has decreased by more than 11%, or 290,000 heads. The biggest reduction has been registered in Gomel Oblast and Minsk Oblast.

Pig mortality has increased in almost every second district of the country. The number of piglets has gone down by 8%.

“Against the sector's poor perfromance in the previous years, this year is showing an insignificant progress in pig production (cultivation) volumes across the country,” the head of state said. “We have growth, but it is at the level of arithmetic error.”

The President was briefed that appropriate measures were being taken, but pig mortality continued growing in all the regions of the country, except for Grodno Oblast and Minsk Oblast. The number of piglets has decreased due to the reduction of litter in Vitebsk Oblast and Minsk Oblast. Efficiency indicators are decreasing, the number of loss-making pig breeding farms is growing, Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The causes of the problems are lying on the surface. The head of state pointed them out. These were gross violations of biological protection of the complexes: insufficient work on rodent and bird control, disinfection, provision of protective clothing. Pig accounting revealed false reporting and concealment of pig mortality numbers.

The President's instructions to restore the number of pigs and the volume of pork production to the level of 2012, set back in 2014, have not been fulfilled so far.

“Let us figure out what the reason is. Where are technologies being violated? Where do sanitary measures fail to be implemented? Where is the human factor affecting the sector?” Aleksandr Lukashenko addressed the participants of the meeting.

The head of state believes that the current situation requires, first of all, basic technological and labor discipline, better breeding and pedigree work, and improved compound feed formulations. Belarusian scientists should join the efforts to solve the current issues.

“We have [Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation] BNBC operating in the country, which can meet any of your needs. You are welcome to establish contacts and take the best mixed fodder,” the head of state said.

At the meeting Aleksandr Lukashenko said that pig breeding complexes should be upgraded, and the upgrade effort should be modeled on that of dairy farms.

“As we have already said, we need to upgrade pig breeding complexes. Almost 70% of these complexes were built more than 20 years ago. There should be a specific program to bring these complexes into shape,” the head of state emphasized. He added that many of them are outdated and have a high degree of wear and tear.

In this regard, the President recalled that medium-sized pig breeding complexes (for about 24,000 head) were built in some farms upon his instruction back in the day and these complexes have proved to be a good idea. “Why wouldn’t you keep doing it?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.

The head of state also spoke about biological security of pig breeding complexes, which he sees as a matter of national importance. “Please keep in mind that helping agricultural workers with harvesting, providing the agricultural sector with equipment, fertilizers and financial resources is the responsibility of the so-called agricultural business, the responsibility of governors, heads of district executive committees, heads of agricultural enterprises. Meanwhile, the government should strictly control how order and biosecurity are maintained. The same pertains to soil fertility. Reclamation, soil fertility, roads, etc. - this is the area of responsibility of government agencies. Therefore, ensuring biological security and order at complexes is a matter of national importance,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

“Let’s think of a centralized program to renovate our pig-breeding complexes and to build new ones, like it was done with dairy complexes,” the head of state continued.

At the same time, he emphasized the importance of a responsible attitude to work and compliance with rules, otherwise modernization will not help. “Thus, today we need to take decisions that will ensure sustainable development of the pig industry. I believe, we need professional and out-of-the-box solutions,” the President noted.