Off-site seminar to discuss agricultural development in Minsk District

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko will hold an off-site seminar to discuss agricultural development in Minsk District on 17 June.

The event took place at the Ostroshitsky Gorodok branch of the Dzerzhinsky agro-industrial complex.

During the seminar, the President and other participants received reports on the production activities of the Dzerzhinsky agro-industrial complex and advanced practices in dairy complex construction, using the Selishche 2 dairy complex as an example. The discussions were focus on a comprehensive approach to improving cattle welfare and boosting its productivity.

Participants of the seminar explored dairy cattle housing conditions, feeding and milking technologies, and modern methods of applying liquid organic fertilizers.

Among the participants were regional executive committee chairpersons and their first deputies, President’s authorized representatives in the regions, President's aides and regional inspectors.

Today’s meeting on agriculture was dedicated to cattle housing and care. “There is no escaping it,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that he had suggested building a monument to a cow to show appreciation for the role it plays in the lives of people; it was especially the case during the Great Patriotic War. “When people went into the forests, they took cattle with them to survive. The cow still feeds people. It is not only about milk, but also meat. If we want to be healthy, we should breathe clean air and eat normal products; thus the cow, figuratively speaking, deserves living in a palace,” the head of state said.

The President noted that in recent years Belarus has come up with an optimal animal husbandry strategy. In line with this strategy, livestock farms should be transformed into livestock dairy complexes, where the technology is observed throughout the entire production chain.

“You, journalists, will be given a brief one-hour lesson on the technology that we use and on the kind of ‘palaces’ where cows should be kept,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said explaining the idea behind the meeting.

This off-site seminar is taking place in the run-up to two major meetings to discuss the health of calves and the performance of the agricultural complex of Vitebsk Oblast that is facing many challenges now.

The President emphasized that production of high-quality milk is very profitable. It can be used to make a broad assortment of products that are in high demand abroad.

“Today you have everything you need for production and processing. Jokes aside, I repeat once again: if you don't want to sit in the trenches, get covered with mud and be eaten by lice, let's work in earnest,” the head of state emphasized.

“Compliance with technology and military-style discipline. You were given a free hand. If we don't want war, we should work in the right way. We should produce and sell. We should work in good faith,” the head of state said.

Speaking about the seminar-meeting, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that he asked Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin, who was the Minsk Oblast governor before, and other specialists to determine an advanced agricultural complex whose agricultural practices can be scaled nationally. The technology used by the Selishche 2 dairy complex of the Dzerzhinsky agricultural company is not just advanced, but cutting-edge. “This is the next century,” the President remarked. Everything here has been done in a very cost-effective way. Many construction works were performed by the company itself. “Is it that hard? If you are a good manager, you simply must have your own construction team,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Other organizations should follow suit. In general, there are no more than a third of struggling agricultural enterprises in the country. The performance of the rest is either satisfactory or very good.

“We need to scale up [the experience of advanced farms], modernize some old farms, turn them into dairy complexes. We need modern cattle maintenance technologies, and sell premium-quality milk. This yields good money today as milk production is a lucrative business these days,” the Belarusian leader said as he was setting tasks.

He drew attention to wars and conflicts taking place in the world. Belarus is not a war profiteer, but food will always be in demand in the world even in peaceful times, the President is sure: “In the times of peace people also need to eat. This means that the demand for food and clothing will only increase (and clothing is also made from agricultural raw materials). Therefore, we must definitely follow this path - create dairy complexes and solve these problems.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko drew special attention to the conditions of keeping cattle, especially young animals. He urged to prevent cattle deaths, which is still a problem at many farms. To prevent death losses, not only good facilities are needed, but also high-quality feed. “No calves - no milk, no meat,” the Belarusian leader said.

The head of state recalled two of his earlier instructions - to make domestic haylage presses and robotic milking systems that would be just as good as foreign ones.

“A press must be made. This is a critical matter,” the head of state emphasized. He underscored that the equipment quality determines the feed quality, and this is important for livestock health.

Aleksandr Lukashenko views robotic milking systems as a very necessary thing given the shortage of personnel in rural areas. But this is also a matter of production efficiency.

Half of the current chairpersons of the oblast executive committees have no previous farming experience, the head of state said. On the other hand, these specialists have held high positions, including in the energy sector and even in law enforcement agencies.

Aleksandr Lukashenko expects that these managers will help improve discipline. The head of state added that there were enough farming specialists in the regions. “We have many specialists. What we still lack is a well-organized process. We will see what comes of this personnel experiment. There is a lack of discipline. We are doing everything right. But sometimes we do it slowly, or do not do it at all. Executive discipline is the number one priority,” the Belarusian leader emphasized. “Agriculture is a mess. It is not true that we lack specialists. We need to organize them and make them work. We need discipline. We need results.”

Addressing the participants of the meeting, the head of state mentioned a significant number of failures as the major reason for today’s event. “I decided to take a military-style approach. We had a good formula in the army: ‘Do as I do’. So I decided to show you that I demand this from you, and you should do it this way. There will be no livestock losses then. If current livestock mortality continues, we will end up with nothing to eat ourselves. Do not think that this is Lukashenko's whim,” the President said.

Regarding his thesis that failing to work properly would lead the country to war, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that this was no political propaganda. “I want you, the authorities in the first place, to understand this. We know how to work,” the Belarusian leader said.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, many crop production issues have already been discussed, including at the Presidential level. Approaches to cultivating rapeseed, flax, winter barley, and many other crops have been outlined. “I grew up in the village. I’ve lived long enough to understand that a person cannot live without food, without clothes, the essentials. The world's population is constantly growing. We know how to work. Let's develop. We must not forget that we are a machine engineering country. We have long-standing traditions in machine engineering and other fields like chemistry, petrochemistry, and oil refining. We have many industries where we know how to work. We need to invest there and set up new enterprises. We need to do what we know how to do,” the President stated.

The possibility of introducing centralized procurement of veterinary vaccines was discussed at an off-site meeting.

During the event, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) Vladimir Karanik delivered a report on a comprehensive approach to improving cattle welfare and boosting its productivity. Among the key aspects he addressed was the importance of timely and high-quality vaccination. To ensure effective vaccination, appropriate pharmaceutical supplies are required. In this regard, Vladimir Karanik proposed centralized procurement of veterinary vaccines to streamline the process.

The initiative received approval from seminar participants, who shared their perspectives on the matter.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also spoke positively about the proposal and instructed responsible officials to thoroughly discuss the details and submit an agreed proposal to the President for formalization. "Let's make decisions where necessary. If centralization is needed, then let's do it. And let's stop all the chatter about markets," the head of state said. "We should make these decisions soon. I am ready. Please submit proposals so that we can put these discussions on paper."

The implementation of such large-scale projects should be preceded by thorough examination and risk assessment. There should be, for example, secured sources of feed, work discipline and strict adherence to technology. After all, with such a concentration of livestock in one place, the risks of significant losses in the event of diseases increase. Therefore, it could make sense to distribute the livestock among four separate smaller complexes 25,000 head each instead of one large facility.

At the same time, it makes economic sense to build large complexes; the financial efficiency of such facilities is higher.

“Let's approach it in a smart way. I will be glad and happy if we build some pig complexes in Gomel Oblast and they do well there. In fact, we need to give a boost to Gomel Oblast. And this will benefit the regional development. But if they can't handle it, there is no point of even starting it there.”

“Let's make up our mind: we can either build four complexes or one 100,000 head complex in Gomel Oblast,” the President said.