At the meeting of the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee: Agriculture must be managed systematically

The core of the region's agricultural complex is the Dubrovno, Orsha, and Tolochin districts. Due to climatic conditions, soil fertility, and other objective prerequisites, they have a number of advantages over other regions and should become "breakthrough" areas in bringing Vitebsk region's agriculture to a qualitatively new level of operation and economic development.

This explains why Orsha region was again the focus of the region's leadership at the past meeting chaired by the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee. Nikolai Sherstnev personally "inspected" it once again, paying special attention to the condition of crops, livestock, and fodder harvesting.

The range of impressions on a ten-point scale is from 0 to 10. The northern part of the district is particularly neglected, according to the head of the region. In the "Teplichny" branch of RUP "Vitebskenergo," the instructions given in the autumn to restore order and ensure technological discipline in crop production have not been fulfilled. For this reason, the winter and spring crop fields here cannot be compared with the grain fields of OJSC "Agrokombinat Yubileiny," KUSP "SGTS Zadneprovsky," and SPC "Larinovka," although sowing was carried out almost simultaneously. Looking at the first cut of grasses in "Teplichny," one wants to cry.

The Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee sees the reason for such a sharp contrast in the weakness of the farm's agronomic service, which leads to a lack of farming culture and non-compliance with technological processes in soil cultivation, which are very sensitive to agricultural techniques here.

The policies of the "Teplichny" management in livestock breeding and vegetable growing were also criticized. In order to recoup the investments made in the modernization of the material base in these areas, the farm needs to focus on increasing its cattle population and analyzing the cost of vegetable production. After all, the revenue per employee here is four (!) times lower than, for example, in SPK "Larinovka" in the same Orsha district. And the fact that its own (by no means purchased!) electricity accounts for about 60 percent of the cost of tomatoes grown in the local greenhouse complex is perceived as nothing short of a ridiculous anecdote. Nevertheless, it is a reality. Consequently, the level of specialists who do not see and understand this is either weak or irresponsible – this is the conclusion of the chairman of the regional executive committee based on what he saw at the "Teplichny" branch.

– All agricultural enterprises integrated with investor organizations must be profitable, – Nikolai Nikolaevich set the task for the managers. – It is necessary to calculate the effectiveness of financial investments made in the economy of agricultural enterprises. For now, investors in integrated structures primarily act as financial "firefighters": the collective farm needs money – here you go! This should not be the case and will not be. As for the agricultural branch "Teplichny" of RUP "Vitebskenergo" itself, we are determining the prospects for its further development and taking its activities under strict control.

A similar situation has developed in KUSP "Mezhevo" and OJSC "Mayak Vysokoe". Together with "Teplichny", they occupy about a third of the district's land. Meanwhile, the district authorities, the district agricultural and food department of the Orsha District Executive Committee have little influence on increasing the efficiency of management precisely here, in the northern zone of the region, ensuring positive agricultural performance primarily due to the southern part of Orsha region. This is a fundamentally wrong practice, emphasized the chairman of the regional executive committee. Every hectare of agricultural land must be effective.

Agriculture requires constant, systematic work. Only with such an approach will we have a positive result, – summarized N. Sherstnev.

 

Lyudmila Myshlyonok,

chief specialist of the main department

of ideology, culture

and youth affairs of the regional executive committee