Meeting with harvest leaders in Minsk District

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with harvest leaders in Minsk District who have achieved outstanding results during the ongoing harvest campaign.

The head of state arrived at a field of Agrokombinat Zhdanovichi. Here, the President received a gift - a symbolic sheaf marking the threshing of 2 million tonnes of grain in Minsk Oblast. However, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that there should be no stopping there.

“With an eye on three million,” he said accepting the gift.

Speaking with the harvest leaders, the President thanked them for their excellent work during the campaign. At the same time, he noted that there should be far more such people and made a request to share the experience and train a worthy successor generation.

“Please consider how you can help. Having a dozen harvester operators who have threshed 4,000 tonnes and one who has reached 8,000 tonnes is not sufficient. We need one hundred or even two hundred such individuals - people eager to take on the challenge,” the President stressed. “Help us create a reserve of young specialists. The state will provide support and assistance in this effort.”

As Minsk Oblast Governor Aleksei Kushnarenko reported to the head of state, a harvest leaders’ club, Golden Wheat Ear, is being established in the central oblast, which will include harvester operators who have threshed over 4,000 tonnes. A young harvester operators’ school, Little Wheat Ear, will operate under it.

Among the leaders is Pavel Shutilo, who works at the Kukhchitsy agricultural enterprise in Kletsk District. In early August, he became the first in Belarus to thresh 4,000 tonnes of grain, and has since surpassed the 5,000-tonne mark. This impressive result was achieved on a harvester manufactured by Gomselmash.

The harvester operator from Kletsk District regularly achieves high harvest results on Belarusian-made machinery. In 2024, Pavel Shutilo threshed 3,200 tonnes of grain, and in 2025, he surpassed 8,400 tonnes, becoming one of the main heroes of the harvest.

Addressing the harvester operator, the head of state shared a story from his own experience as a manager in the agricultural sector. At the time, about 20 harvester operators worked at the enterprise, and their combined annual harvest was around 4,000 tonnes of grain. By contrast, Pavel Shutilo alone threshed over 8,000 tonnes last year. However, the machinery in the 1990s was vastly different in both quality and power.

The President asked Pavel Shutilo what improvements could be made to the domestically produced harvester. According to the harvester operator, the machine is good and equipped with all the necessary conveniences. “You should always tell me the truth about our cars and harvesters: what needs to be improved? The machines are good, and they look like the best global models,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. “But now we need to push the quality further, so everything is perfect, and no one tells me we need to buy CLAAS or John Deere because Gomselmash doesn’t measure up. And here I have an example: Pavel is working, and he measures up. Neither CLAAS nor John Deere can match that.”

The head of state has previously recognized the harvester operator’s achievements. At the second meeting of the 7th Belarusian People’s Congress, Aleksandr Lukashenko called Pavel Shutilo a hero. “There is a hero sitting here - a young man. He threshed over eight thousand tonnes!” the President said at the time. The entire hall applauded the harvester operator, who was among the participants of the congress.

Vitaly Kishko, who works at the same farm hauling the harvest, has also achieved high results. During this year’s harvest campaign, he has already transported over 6,100 tonnes of grain, legumes, and rapeseed, breaking his own previous records. Last year, Vitaly Kishko transported over 4,600 tonnes of crops, and in 2024, over 4,200 tonnes.

Another employee of Kukhchitsy, Andrei Alekseichik, transported 7,700 tonnes of grain last year. This year, he is participating in the harvest as the specialist responsible for organizing the campaign.

The President also expressed gratitude to Sergei Zdrok, Director of Kukhchitsy, who supervises the leading harvest workers. The head of the agricultural enterprise assured the head of state that experienced harvester operators and drivers are transferring their expertise to young farmers.

The farmers received well-deserved gifts from the President, who presented them with keys to new BELGEE vehicles. “Men, I am deeply grateful to you for what you are doing. How can the President meet with the agricultural sector’s finest and fail to thank them for their efforts?” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “You’ve deserved it.”

In closing, the harvest leaders posed for a group photograph with the head of state.