Lukashenko: it’s necessary to bring agricultural sector to a new level

At the Council of Ministers meeting, the President, in general, positively assessed last year’s work of the agricultural sector, though there are still reserves for growth here

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted, “We got a really record harvest and record export earnings, but mainly due to crop production. This year, we should boost livestock farming. We need to take our agricultural sector to a new level.”

According to the Head of State, there are all conditions for this, “The crop yield is good, the supply of feed has been increased, although not up to 100 percent. Although, as I am informed, in half of the country’s regions they are not yet able to stop the reduction in the number of livestock. Summon all your strength and impose iron production discipline.”

The President pointed out that every year the State Control Committee also reports about problems with stabilisation funds, “Poor storage conditions, poor product quality, no sampling. Of course, there will be no demand and sampling if everything is withered and rotted by the middle of winter. So the question is for the governors. Who evaluates the conditions in which products are stored? But this is only one side of the coin. How are trading networks built into this chain? We force agrarians to provide the population with high-quality domestic products at affordable prices while trade does not even have an obligation to sell what is grown on their native land. I appeal to the governors to take this issue seriously.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko once again repeated the main task, “The agrarian complex as a whole needs to be brought to a new level. We have reserves. It is necessary to carry out land reclamation more actively and to fully involve these lands in agricultural turnover, to maintain them in proper condition. In autumn, a nationwide seminar was held, where everything was made clear: just take and do it. God forbid these lands will again turn into swamps or overgrow. Chairmen of the executive committees will respond personally. The sowing campaign lies ahead. It must be carried out impeccably, at the highest level. Food is now a goldmine. The prices are insane, never seen before.”