‘We should set the table for Belarusian food’

The issue of the development of fruit growing in Belarus was in the spotlight during the working trip of the President to the Grodno Region. Aleksandr Lukashenko visited V.I. Kremko Production Cooperative.

The Head of State recalled that the Grodno Region was the best in the Soviet Union. But the region fell into decay after the collapse of the USSR. That is why having taken the post of President, 
Aleksandr Lukashenko appointed Aleksandr Dubko Grodno Region governor, his challenger in the first presidential election and head of one of the best farms. 
“I remember how hard it was to reshape and revitalise the once best region in the country,” the President shared his memories.
Aleksandr Lukashenko inquired about the volume of V.I. Kremko Production Cooperative for garden areas, crops, storage facilities. All this today is of particular importance in the context of import substitution and food security, the President emphasises, 

“I strongly believe that we should give preference to Belarus-made bread, meat, milk, vegetables and, of course, fruits growing in our climate as much as possible. In other words, we should set the table for Belarusian food.”

The Head of State noted the tension with which the current harvesting campaign is taking place in the country, “I feel like the country is groaning in this harvesting campaign. This tension is terrible. I’m feeling it. In a good sense of the word, the tension is terrible.”
According to the President, the tension is caused by the task of harvesting grain crops as efficiently as possible, which is expected to be high this year.   Aleksandr Lukashenko asked how the farm is addressing the housing problem. Recently, timber has increased in prices. Belarus has enough of this resource. In this regard, Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed to think over measures to reduce the cost of timber, in particular for the construction of housing in rural communities. Thus, the personnel issue will also be resolved, as people will be interested to stay in rural communities. 
“We have timber. Why don’t we sell timber to farmers on the cheap? A house will be 10 times cheaper. But the houses built with the use of this mechanism should be rented and owned by an enterprise. And everything should be transparent,” stressed the Belarusian leader.
The Head of State also suggested giving the right to a person to buy out the house after a certain period of work at an enterprise.
The President got familiar with the soybean growing technologies on the farm. The Head of State believes that the country’s soybean crop areas, as well as those of sunflower, should be increased. The main thing is to try it out in order to be ready for cultivation of these crops in the future, if it turns out to be economically feasible.
Aleksandr Lukashenko gave an instruction to fill storehouses with fruit and vegetables to capacity in order to meet consumer needs with domestic products during the off-season. 
The President noted that a lot of people buy products in Belarus now. The customers include not only Russians but Ukrainians, residents of Poland and Lithuania, 

“And thank god, let them come. They pay good money. I’ve asked officials responsible for retail trade in the regions to arrange simple, conventional retail outlets at the border. So that you could bring and sell products.” 

Import substitution was another issue during the working trip of the Head of State. Aleksandr Lukashenko got acquainted with new models of agricultural machinery. The President paid special attention to localisation, so that the components are predominantly domestic.
During the working trip, the President held a meeting on the development of gardens and the provision of the domestic market with fruit and vegetable products. Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that according to many officials, there are gardens in all the regions, but their number is still obviously small. The President regularly instructs the government and regional executive committees to increase the area of productive varieties of fruit and berry crops as well as to revive gardens. However, garden areas are decreasing annually, the Head of State said. The productivity of gardens has also decreased. We need to fix the situation urgently. 
As the President specified at the end of the meeting, this was a preliminary discussion of the problem. Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the Government to develop an appropriate programme for the development of fruit growing, the implementation of which would close both the domestic market and ensure exports. 
During his working trip to Grodno Region Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with residents of the agro-town of Kvasovka.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by
Photos by BELTA