Lukashenko on prospects of flax cultivation: we need a breakthrough!
New breakthrough achievements in agriculture are impossible without a new scientific and technological basis through breeding, increased productivity and compliance with technologies in both crop and livestock production – as stated by President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko during today’s Dazhynki-2024 regional festival-fair in Polotsk
According to the Head of State, there is a certain base, but today we need a more significant result.
“Look at what we have managed to achieve in our northern silk: flax. But there are also enough problems. Tasks have been set for flax production, responsible personnel have been identified who will be accountable for their actions. No matter how difficult it may be, flax is our national symbol, being depicted on the state emblem. Belarus has always been among the world leaders in flax cultivation and production of flax products, and the Vitebsk Region is the flagship of this industry,” the President underlined.
According to the President, flax is not an easy crop, so the world is not very keen on it. Twenty years ago, the Head of State predicted a drop in global flax production. That’s what happened. Meanwhile, we have preserved the school, technology, personnel, modernised our flax mills, the Orsha Linen Mill. But there was a moment, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled, when in the 1990s this crop – whose profitability was close to 70 percent in the best years – was almost ruined.
“We have fundamentally changed the situation. Significant investments have enabled us to create new flax varieties, new machinery, and modernise our production facilities. Our Orsha Linen Mill is the largest in Europe and the CIS. Belarusian specialists have learned how to make good, thin fabrics and other products demanded on world markets. In fact, we have reached a zero-waste production cycle,” the Head of State emphasised.
However, there are still many reserves, the President is convinced, “It is clear that linen fabrics will be much in demand. We have a good groundwork to expand these crops, increase yields and process them. And you, the Vitebsk region, will be in the limelight. It is necessary, at least, to approach the former Soviet volumes and double exports over the next five-year period. Moreover, the prices have gone up. This fully applies to other regions that are engaged in flax cultivation. I repeat, we need a breakthrough from agrarians, scientists, engineers. We need to learn how to cultivate high-quality long-fibre flax, to constantly increase the volume of raw materials and products. It is necessary to boldly expand the spheres of its application, to look for ways to create new non-traditional materials, such as composite materials.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that a breakthrough into the future is needed not only in flax farming, but also in other sectors of agriculture, “We must compensate for the lack of natural advantages and the resulting difficulties – cold climate, difficult soils, lack of fossil hydrocarbons – with what we are particularly strong in: intelligence. And this applies not only to the Vitebsk Region.”
