Harvest festival Dazhynki 2024 in Mikashevichi

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the harvest festival Dazhynki 2024 in the town of Mikashevichi, Brest Oblast on 5 October.

The head of state presented government awards to outstanding workers of agribusiness enterprises.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that thanks to a decision in favor of developing the agriculture the country had managed to feed itself first and has now become a leading food exporter on the international scale.

“Our foods are known well and loved far beyond the borders of our Belarus. I can tell you more. In conditions of illegal fascist unprecedented sanctions that have been enforced against our state over the last few years it was the export of agricultural products that allowed other branches of the economy to adapt to the new situation and find new target markets,” the President stated.

Apart from that, the work of one employee of the agribusiness complex creates up to ten jobs in allied industries.

The head of state recalled that more than a quarter of a century ago Dazhynki 1996, the first national harvest festival in the history of sovereign Belarus, took place in the Polesie area.

“Times were very complicated. The economy had collapsed. The countryside was absolutely poor. Production plummeted. Primarily the output of agricultural products. The lack of guidance was the most dreadful thing back then. We didn’t know what to do, where to go, which way to follow. In other words, confusion and vacillation. People, who are older, should be able to recall that we were virtually on the brink of an abyss back then. Some were already in the abyss. And we had two options. Fight for the right to live a free and decent life in our land by preserving it. Or for everyone to fall into the abyss and die,” Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled those times. “It was very difficult. Despite everything you actively helped me back then when I was a very green President. And your support and faith always inspired me. And we didn’t bend. We endured.”

The President reminded that they had to literally manually and little by little collect money to buy fuel, seeds, and fertilizers in order to allow agricultural enterprises to sow and harvest at least any crops.

“It may sound pompous but peasants saved the country back then. And we organized the first Dazhynki festival to honor working people. The festival became an anthem to praise hardworking people of the countryside, the hard and noble work of peasants. And we still follow this tradition after slightly changing its look,” the Belarusian leader said. “It is not surprising that over the years our Dazhynki festival has become a celebration for the entire country. It is truly a people’s festival. Because without bread there will be no songs, there will be nothing.”

“Life has demonstrated that we’ve chosen a strategy absolutely correctly. We identified food security as a priority of the state policy. The main priority. I intend to travel to all the oblasts in order to bow low to you and thank you, dear agricultural workers. You are more than food security. You are a pillar of our country. You’ve saved this country and you hold it on your shoulders in the most complicated times,” the head of state stressed.

The President thanked all the executives, harvester operators, agronomists, machine operators, and drivers for the harvest and for their heroic work. He wished everyone peaceful sky, happiness, family prosperity, and great accomplishments in their hard but very necessary work. “You are genuine heroes of the day. You are heroes. Everything is simple: time has chosen you!” he said.

The agricultural enterprise Parokhonskoye was awarded an Order of Labor Glory. Aleksandr Lukashenko presented the award to the enterprise’s Director Vladimir Khrolenko and Lyudmila Malyshchitskaya, an ideology specialist. The day before Aleksandr Lukashenko had been made familiar with the operation of the agricultural enterprise and had praised what he saw. The President hailed the agricultural enterprise as an example that should be followed in the course of developing other territories in the Polesie area.

The chief agronomist of OAO Agro-Kobrinskoye Ivan Gusak and a tractor driver-machine operator of OAO Kosovo Vladimir Khoruzhy were awarded an Order of Honor.

Medals for Labor Merits were bestowed upon a tractor driver-machine operator of OAO Zhuravlinoye Aleksandr Baran, a driver of OAO Dvoretsky Vladimir Kindruk, Director of OAO Voznesensky Nadezhda Kondratyuk, a machine milking operator of UP Molodovo-Agro Valentina Mokich, and a tractor driver-machine operator of OAO Zherebkovichi Anatoly Petukh.

The honorary title Honored Worker of Agriculture of the Republic of Belarus was bestowed upon the head of the agricultural enterprise SPK Doropeyevichi Vasily Yukhimuk.

A number of workers of agricultural enterprises received commendations from the President. The number includes the head of the agricultural enterprise SPK Fedorsky Nikolai Agafonov, the manager of the Zvody branch of OAO Ostromechevo Fyodor Vabishchevich, a tractor driver-machine operator of OAO Agro-Motol Ruslan Suprun, a vehicle driver of the Ryasna branch of OAO Belovezhsky Stepan Tsaruk.

Presidential commendations were also awarded to the worker collective of OAO Agro-Kolyadichi. The commendation came with a gift certificate for an MTZ 1221.3 tractor. Aleksandr Lukashenko presented the award to the enterprise’s Director Sergei Subbota and to the chief engineer Aleksandr Kaduka.