More than Br13 billion will be allocated for the optimization of agricultural land contours in the Vitebsk region

March 18, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. More than Br13 billion will be allocated for the implementation of the Vitebsk regional program "Clean Fields". The regional program was approved today at a session of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies, a BELTA correspondent reports. This year, it is planned to produce 30% more agricultural products in agricultural organizations in the region than in 2009. To fulfill the planned production volumes, organizational and technological measures have been developed for land improvement, soil cultivation, and shrub clearing. These works are to be carried out on an area of 44 thousand hectares. Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Nikolai Olenich, in an interview with a BELTA correspondent, noted that land reclamation work in agricultural lands began in the Year of the Native Land, and the "Clean Fields" program approved by the deputies is their continuation. Thanks to its implementation, it will be possible to create optimal field contours, which will allow for the efficient use of energy-intensive and wide-cut machinery. In 2009, shrubs were cleared and waterlogged areas were eliminated on an area of 10 thousand hectares, which made it possible to create optimal field contours on an area of 42 thousand hectares. More than Br7 billion was spent on the implementation of these measures. Agricultural organizations in the region use 1.3 million hectares of agricultural land, including arable land - 776 thousand hectares, and meadows - 555 thousand hectares. By mechanical composition, heavy clay and loam soils account for 60% of the structure of agricultural land. Agricultural land is estimated at 25 points, arable land - at 26.7 points. The average contour of agricultural land in the region is 5 hectares, and arable land - 6 hectares. -0-