A. Lukashenko demanded to eliminate violations of flax cultivation technology in Belarus /updated/

March 5, Orsha / Vladimir Vasilkov - BELTA /. The President of Belarus demanded to eliminate violations of flax cultivation technology in the country. Alexander Lukashenko made a corresponding statement today at a meeting on the development of the flax industry in Orsha, BelTA correspondent reports. "Due to the low quality of raw materials, the share of the most valuable long fiber is only about 20%," the President stated. "And all because the technology of flax cultivation is violated everywhere. In addition, we do not have a mechanism that encourages farms to give flax-suitable soils to specialized detachments of enterprises." "Let's take the initial link of the cycle - the production of tow. We have 208 flax-sowing farms and 49 flax processing plants involved in this. It would seem that such a number is capable of fulfilling annual targets for the collection and production of flax fiber. However, over 5 years, we have not produced more than 40 thousand tons of fiber, with a plan of 60 thousand tons," the head of state said. He also noted the negligent attitude towards observing the optimal terms for harvesting flax, retting, and lifting tow. Often, it is lifted not in September, but in November, when it has significantly lost quality due to rains. Addressing the Minister of Agriculture, Semyon Shapiro, Alexander Lukashenko emphasized: "If you don't grow and supply normal raw materials for enterprises, you won't work with me... What is the problem with obtaining normal tow, at the level of quality as in France and Belgium, to produce at least 60 thousand tons of fiber per year." The President instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to strictly adhere to the flax sowing deadlines - 10 days. -0-