Lukashenko: winter barley is salvation for us
Aleksandr Lukashenko said this during his today’s visit to the Kozlovichi-Agro farm in the Slutsk District
“For us, winter barley is salvation – especially on the southern borders, in the Gomel Region. The yield exceeds 80 quintals on fields where it was technologically correctly sown,” the President said.
Winter barley’s vegetation period is characterised by moisture, so the crop can be harvested already in early July. The Head of State added that more winter barley should be grown in the country, and each farm needs to keep to a reasonable balance based on expediency and profitability.
The experiment with this crop was a success: the yield of winter barley in the Presidential fields makes about 80 dt/ha. The same result is observed in Kozlovichi-Agro, where winter barley covers 148 hectares. Next year, the area is planned to be significantly expanded here.
Agriculture Minister Igor Brylo stressed that his Ministry will be guided by the availability of seeds, and the acreage for winter barley will be co-ordinated with each region.
According to the Belarusian leader, it is ‘important not to talk round’ the issue of winter barley. “Winter barley should be cultivated from all positions. In Soviet times, it was neglected, but technologies, equipment and personnel are different at present. We can easily get a harvest of barley. So we need to try,” he stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko added that the crop’s yield significantly exceeds the one of other types of grain. This means that proper cultivation and high results might lead to the situation in the future when less grain is sown, while more areas are allocated for protein crops. This is a fundamental issue for animal husbandry, because the industry will be able to save on purchases of imported protein in this case.
“We should no longer joke and experiment, we should not feed cattle with flour. There should be a balanced feed, then there will be milk," the President stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko added that protein crops – peas, lupine and soy – will be sown in the Presidential experimental fields. “We’ll see the result then. I am convinced it is possible to cultivate them domestically, and so there will be no need to buy them abroad,” he said.
