Nikolai Sherstnev familiarized himself with the progress of the sowing campaign in the Orsha district
Nikolai Sherstnev assured that the farmers will cope with the task, as a good foundation for the 2019 harvest was laid last year. All organizational issues regarding staffing have also been resolved. For the sowing campaign, an additional 1.5 thousand people have been involved to assist the villagers: about one thousand are citizens, and about 500 more people have been engaged from educational institutions.
Favorable weather conditions have allowed all districts of the Vitebsk region to start the sowing campaign almost simultaneously. Today, a full range of work is being carried out. The main emphasis in the work is placed on strict adherence to technology.
– If we adhere to it, we will get the maximum harvest. I have already said this: the 30 centners per hectare that we get, and the 70-80 centners per hectare that we should get – this is precisely the difference that depends on technology. Therefore, we are urging everyone to adhere to it to the maximum and are trying to resolve all related issues, – emphasized Nikolai Sherstnev.
Touching upon the topic of the economic development of the Vitebsk region, the Chairman of the regional executive committee stressed that its foundation is determined by industry, as well as small and medium-sized businesses.
– But if we consider this issue in the context of regions, then all of them are agrarian, – noted Nikolai Sherstnev. – In some agricultural organizations, the total revenue from the sale of agricultural products reaches 70 percent. Huge reserves are concentrated in rural areas, and we can grow many times over. Today, Directive No. 6 "On the Development of Rural Areas" is our roadmap, and the creation of large integration structures, agroholdings with the participation of enterprises processing agricultural products, is our beacon. This is the path we are following. We have combined agricultural production, feed mills and dairy processing enterprises, and trade, which leads to a reduction in cost price, and ultimately to a competitive product. The revenue received will be redistributed to modernize agricultural production. In the next five years, we plan to renovate dairy farms, the material and technical base of agricultural enterprises, and equipment, solve problems in pig farming, and create all conditions for young people to stay and work in rural areas.
Igor Isachenko, Chairman of the District Executive Committee, told journalists in detail about the progress of the sowing campaign in the Orsha district:
– Sowing of spring crops, plowing and harrowing of soil, top dressing of winter crops, undersowing of perennial grasses, reseeding of winter crops that have died, and other priority works are actively carried out in the fields of all farms. The pace of sowing is steadily increasing. Taking into account the provision of mineral fertilizers, seed material, personnel, and the high readiness of equipment, we are doing quite well. If the weather holds, we will finish spring sowing within 10-12 days.
On the same day, media representatives visited the "Teplichny" branch of RUP "Vitebskenergo" – a diversified enterprise that is moving towards innovative development.
In mid-May, they plan to launch the production of frozen vegetables and berries here. The installation of a deep freezing line will allow for the production of 2 thousand tons of finished products from own and purchased raw materials in a single-shift operation.
As the enterprise director Pavel Fominov stated, the installation of technological equipment, including freezing chambers with a total storage capacity of 890 tons, is currently underway in the new workshop. On the new line, greenhouse farmers will produce various mixtures, up to nine components. The branch plans to sell its products not only on the domestic market. Export opportunities are being explored.
The launch of this facility will significantly increase the share of own vegetables used, as well as provide services for freezing and storing products on a tolling basis.
Another large-scale project of the enterprise was the modernization of the canning section of the product processing workshop. Partial updating of technological equipment has made it possible to increase the production volume in monetary terms from 180 thousand to 280 thousand rubles, and to achieve a profitability of sales of 6.8 percent.
The range of manufactured products is diverse. Seasonal products, including those in vacuum packaging (sauerkraut, salted dill, tomatoes, cucumbers), canned vegetables (tomato juice, pickled vegetables), canned fruits and berries (pureed with sugar), juices, and drinks.
– Considering global environmental trends, a glass bottling line for products has been installed in the juice production section of the workshop. For this, we use domestic glass containers with a capacity of 0.75 liters. The total annual production volume of juices in them is 86 thousand bottles. The product line includes birch juice in various flavors, tomato juice, orange, mango, pineapple, apple-orange, apple-grape, grapefruit, – said Pavel Fominov.
Journalists also visited a new modern dairy farm for 400 head of cattle in the village of Staiky. The large-scale reconstruction project of the complex was implemented by the "Teplichny" branch of RUP "Vitebskenergo" in just one year. The dairy farm started operating at the end of July last year. 17 new jobs have been created here, employing residents of the surrounding villages. The complex, equipped for free-stall housing of cattle, features a "Herringbone" 2Ч16 milking parlor. The management system program allows for tracking milk yield for each animal. During the technological re-equipment of the farm, outdoor exercise areas were created, premises were ventilated, a watering system was installed, feed distribution was mechanized, new silage trenches were built, a weighing station, a shed for calves, and utility rooms for staff were equipped.
Just a few hundred meters from the reconstructed dairy farm, construction is underway for a robotic farm for 1.2 thousand head of cattle. The project, costing 21.5 million rubles, is financed by Vitebskenergo's own funds and loan resources from the Development Bank. The facility is scheduled to be commissioned in November 2019. The project implementation will create 33 new jobs.