The eco-friendliness trend: what natural products are produced in the Vitebsk region? ONT report
A tractor with attached equipment is the only machinery working in this field (see video) during the sowing season. No plows or chemical weeding. Special grains are grown here.
Vasily Senkovets is a novice farmer, and he has chosen a new direction for his agribusiness – organic farming. Four years ago, he started with 5 hectares of land, then 50, and last year the district authorities allocated another 280 hectares. And there is a queue for buckwheat. He admits that the harvest of 40 tons is instantly bought by customers. Firms from Poland and France are already interested in buckwheat from Glubokoye. Natural products are a global trend. Producers are eager to mark each package: ECO, BIO, "Natural Product".
Vyacheslav Nikolaevich started his business on the land 20 years ago. He did not chase trends, but chose products that people would constantly need, their own, real, and, of course, natural. Following apple and pear trees, raspberry and currant bushes appeared in his 130-hectare garden.
Large regional agricultural producers focus on traditional sectors – meat and dairy. How to make a farm work like a factory, the "Koroli" farm understood. Modern equipment and technology. Cows are kept under a roof year-round, and their diet includes all necessary additives and microelements – they started with 10 liters per cow, now they milk 27 – and only "extra" quality.
The director of "Koroli" admits: life is not yet royal, but they already know where to develop. Plans include modernizing several more farms. The more milk, the better for both the producer and the processor. The enterprise is part of the raw material zone of the Glubokoye Dairy and Canning Plant. They process 350 tons of raw materials per day. The products are in demand from Israel to Singapore – since the beginning of the year, exports have increased by 40%. A lot of raw materials are needed, and now the plant actively helps two dozen agricultural enterprises from its raw material zone.
There are seven agro-industrial associations in the region in total. The main cooperation is around dairy and meat processing plants. Milk production in the region compared to last year is plus 4%, which may not seem like a large figure, but it means an additional 80 tons of raw materials every day. The region finally set a course for the creation of raw material zones after the President's decree in January.
Sergey Egorov, Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee: "As the President rightly said during his visit to the Vitebsk region, we have found this elementary, much-needed element for the region's development, namely mutually beneficial cooperation between the producer and the processor. There is direct assistance and involvement of processing enterprises."
Belarus exports its agricultural products to more than 100 countries. At the same time, our meat, milk, and cheeses withstand competition with global producers in each market. Domestic products are already on the shelves of China, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. In order not to fall behind in the new direction – organic – Belarus has joined the international standard, rules for the production, labeling, and sale of organic products. More than one and a half thousand hectares of land have already been certified in four regions of the country.
Organic products will soon occupy their niche in exports, experts are confident. Last year, the foreign food basket was worth five and a half billion dollars. Interest in our agricultural producers has not decreased even during the pandemic; trucks with products head for the border daily.
ONT.