Heads of peasant farms of the Vitebsk region met with the leadership of the regional agricultural production department to discuss ways to improve mutually beneficial cooperation

The fact that it is truly beneficial for both parties gathered here was convinced by the figures provided by the First Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Committee for Agriculture and Food, Vladimir Mashero:

– Farmers (and there are 342 of them in our region) have only 22.5 thousand hectares of farmland at their disposal, with almost 15 thousand hectares being arable land. And from this area last year, 12 thousand tons of grain, 200 thousand tons of potatoes, and 7.7 thousand tons of vegetables were harvested. Moreover, while the yield of grain crops is almost the same as in public farms, the other crops turned out to be 1.8-2 percent more productive than those grown in most agricultural enterprises. And can the social significance of farmers in rural areas be overestimated?! It is not surprising that the state makes efforts to retain private producers in the land, providing peasant farms with material and financial support in acquiring equipment, fertilizers, constructing facilities, and reclaiming fields… Farmers are provided with equipment on lease (last year, for example, 54 units), preferential loans, and budget resources. This policy will continue in the future.
and in the future.

Subsidizing peasant farms is paying off. For example, in one of the peasant farms in the Dokshitsy district, products worth 308 million rubles are grown per 1 hectare of farmland! They produce garden strawberries, which many shy away from like the plague: it's troublesome. How can such farms not be supported so that they continue to develop intensively – to the delight of the people? Today, according to Sergei Selionov, head of the financing department for the agro-industrial complex of the regional agricultural enterprise, farmers have become more active and are equal members of the country's agro-industrial complex. Budget funds are distributed to them, as well as to other agricultural enterprises, in proportion to the area and cadastral value of agricultural land, as well as the gross agricultural products produced on them. This year, 143 peasant farms applying for economic assistance are included in the program.
on them.

Speaking of state assistance to farmers, it is worth noting that not all of them, figuratively speaking, can take advantage of it. For example, budget funds have been allocated to heads of farms for the purchase of mineral fertilizers. According to the terms, the farmer must conclude an agreement directly with the manufacturing plant and independently deliver the goods to their farm. Only then will the treasury pay for the purchase. However, some received only 3-5 million budget rubles for the purchase of fertilizers. Transportation costs significantly exceed this amount. It turns out that the game is not worth the candle. Deputy Chairman of the Regional Agricultural Sales Department Ivan Fedorov recommends cooperating on delivery, while farmers ask to simplify the process of obtaining fertilizers to a minimum – through district agricultural services, as it used to be, centrally. Indeed, why break spears when experience suggests the simplest method that will save people time, money, and nerves? Alas, the issue remains unresolved at the republican level. Perhaps it is precisely such oddities that force some private farmers to refuse to participate in state programs, so as not to tie their hands with unnecessary obligations and not drown in a bureaucratic sea?

Ekaterina ANECHKINA. "Vitsyebski Rabochy"