The village revival program will allow bringing the Belarusian agro-industrial complex to the European level - President

August 12, Minsk /BELTA/. The full implementation of the state program for the revival and development of the village in Belarus will ensure that the domestic agricultural sector reaches the European level. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated this on August 11 during a working trip to the Minsk region, BELTA was informed by the press service of the head of state. Continuing his working trip around the country's regions, the President visited farms in the Nesvizh district of the Minsk region: OJSC "Novaya Zhizn" and SPC "Agrokombinat "Snov". His attention was focused on issues of providing agriculture with high-quality domestic machinery, introducing modern milk production technologies, and controlling the quality of the final product. As in previous days, Alexander Lukashenko was interested in the pace of grain harvesting. As reported to the head of state, 58% of the areas have been harvested across the country – almost 5.2 million tons. The average grain yield is 39.1 centners per hectare. As for the Minsk region, as of the morning of August 11, 57.5% of the areas had been harvested here – 1.323 million tons, which is 90 thousand tons more than last year, with an average yield of 39.9 centners per hectare. Over the past day, the Minsk region demonstrated a record harvesting pace of 6%. The President noted that harvesting should be carried out more intensively: "Vitebsk and Minsk regions are 5-7 days behind in harvesting, Grodno region is 2 days behind. I have already said that the main thing is speed. And we are not keeping up. It's August, and these 3-5 days due to worsening weather can be problematic to catch up." Despite the fact that neighboring countries have a poor harvest this year, Alexander Lukashenko noted that it might be more profitable not to sell grain abroad, but to use it effectively within the country for livestock needs. "This year, grain prices will be good. But if you sell 1 million tons of grain, you get $100 million, and if you use it for livestock, then through the sale of milk and meat, you will get $300 million for the same 1 million tons (according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food). Therefore, selling grain is foolish. We need to develop agricultural production here to get three times the effect," he emphasized. The head of state paid special attention to the operation of agricultural machinery. The President was shown agricultural machinery of both domestic and foreign production in operation. He warned that the transfer of combine harvesters between regions of Belarus during the harvesting campaign must be justified. "There should be no carelessness in transferring equipment," said Alexander Lukashenko. "It is expensive, so these issues must be approached very carefully and reasonably." Issues of plant breeding were also touched upon. The President approved the idea of creating mini-seed processing plants at agricultural enterprises in the Minsk region. They will serve to adapt grain varieties to local conditions. "This is a good idea. Seeds are the future of crop production, and therefore these projects can be subsidized," he believes. Alexander Lukashenko recalled the proposal made by the Governor of the Brest region, Konstantin Sumar, a few days ago: given the excessively long periods for introducing new varieties (up to 10 years), to allow, as an experiment, the sowing of fields in certain regions of the country with seed varieties that have not yet completed the full testing cycle. "Let's conduct such an experiment, otherwise, by the time we master one variety, a new one will have already been developed abroad, and we will be lagging behind again," said the head of state. At the same time, he stressed that it is necessary to act very cautiously in accelerating breeding timelines: "You can't joke about this. First, we need to identify good farms that have the basis for such experiments. Look carefully: can they afford it? If they can, then we need to set such tasks." The President visited the grain drying complex of OJSC "Novaya Zhizn". He was interested in the reliability and efficiency of domestically produced grain drying complexes. Similar equipment is produced in Belarus at four enterprises. There is no production of such agricultural machinery in the Minsk region, and therefore the assessment of the quality of grain dryers by farmers of the Minsk region was the most impartial. The conclusion of the conversation: Belarus today produces sufficiently effective and good-quality grain cleaning and drying equipment. During the visit to SPC "Agrokombinat "Snov", the head of state focused on the prospects for the development of the country's dairy farms, their equipping with the latest equipment, as well as issues of the quality of meat and dairy products. SPC "Agrokombinat "Snov" is a large diversified farm with a developed processing industry. In crop production, the farm specializes in growing sugar beets. Large areas are allocated for fodder production. Livestock farming is focused on milk production, raising pigs, poultry, and cattle. By order of the President, a new farm was built here, equipped with the latest German-made milking equipment, and the pig complex was reconstructed. About 10 tons of milk are milked per cow per year here. Regarding milk production technology, Alexander Lukashenko stressed that Belarusian enterprises should strive to meet European standards in this regard. "Milk should be sold, including for export," he said. "The European Union is not against certifying our products, but they must meet certain standards." Speaking about the rational structuring of agriculture in the regions, the President noted: "The main thing is that we do not bury funds where they should not be invested." Money should not be spent on endless capital repairs if such farms do not generate worthwhile profits. In addition, the head of state once again emphasized the expediency of gradually consolidating agricultural enterprises where possible. "If everything is concentrated in one farm, then the production process is easier to control," he believes. "And under no circumstances should the structures of profitable farms be simplified," warned Alexander Lukashenko. During the visit to the agro-combine, the issue of training managers for the village was raised. Alexander Lukashenko considers it expedient to use the base of SPCs in this process, the practical experience of managing this flagship of agricultural production. A thorough conversation took place in the farm's laboratory, where the quality control of milk and meat products is carried out at the highest level. The President familiarized himself with the work of this unit of SPC, and was shown new samples of domestically produced laboratory equipment. The head of state believes it is necessary to pay even more attention to this issue in agricultural production, to create new quality control laboratories, acquiring the most modern equipment for them. It is noteworthy that for a whole range of quality characteristics, sanitary requirements for agro-industrial products in Belarus are much stricter than in the European Union. The President also visited an exhibition of products from SPC "Agrokombinat "Snov", which is known far beyond Belarus, and was pleased with its quality. Then Alexander Lukashenko answered journalists' questions. Commenting on the statements of some opposition media containing criticism of the President's trips to the country's regions, Alexander Lukashenko noted that trips to the regions allow for a detailed analysis of the most profound issues, through the solution of which it is possible to achieve strategic goals in economic development. According to him, communication with local leaders allows for more effective adjustment of the economic development strategy: tracking the progress of assignments, making operational decisions "on the fly" and avoiding possible mistakes. Speaking about the essence of his trips to the regions, the head of state explained that discussing the progress of the harvesting campaign is "exclusively background." "After all, when I fly over the fields by helicopter, I study the progress and quality of harvesting much more thoroughly than when, after landing, I listen to reports," the President added. "So what is the main thing then?... It is important for me to know how my instructions are being fulfilled. For example, in the Lyakhovichi district, I learned how we are building pig complexes in accordance with high European standards," said Alexander Lukashenko, adding that the successful adoption of new technologies, which were demonstrated during his visits to Belarusian farms, will allow for a kind of revolution in the domestic agricultural sector. As an example, he cited SPC "Agrokombinat Snov": "The peak has been reached here. And today they can sell their products wherever they want. Whoever tries to close their market to them, they will successfully find another." Returning to the topic of press speculation, the head of state said: "Our so-called opposition has apparently not reached the level where it is capable of positively assessing any of the President's initiatives." "I feel sorry for these people," he added. "If they start to go crazy, it means I'm doing everything right. If they start to praise, look for shortcomings. This is known, this is a classic, and not invented by me." "I have nothing to justify. You remember how our country had empty shelves, and today we have nowhere to put our products. I want you to know: I do nothing just like that. If we do not pay due attention to agriculture today, if we lose the village today, then we will lose the state. If we miss all the processes that are happening in the agricultural sectors, it will cost us many billions of dollars in the future," the head of state concluded. Speaking about the state program for the revival and development of the village, Alexander Lukashenko stressed that its full implementation will ensure that the domestic agricultural sector reaches the European level. "After all, we have only completed about half of the measures under the village revival program," he said. "And when we implement the entire program, we will reach the European level." In the opinion of the President, if the agricultural enterprises of Belarus are at the same level as the agro-combine "Snov", then the country will have no competitors in agriculture. "What is needed to achieve this goal? It is discipline in production, a normal salary for employees, and the highest level of technology," noted the head of state. At the request of journalists, Alexander Lukashenko commented on the decision to repeal the sensational Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 991: "This is an absolutely superfluous, unnecessary resolution. It is recklessness." "The need to avoid intermediaries in trade is not new. I have always insisted that we need to remove as many unnecessary intermediary links from the economic chain as possible," noted the Belarusian leader. "But what to buy from whom and to whom to sell is the business of the enterprise managers. It is to them that I addressed this message - after all, working without intermediaries is cheaper. But why should we tell a specific manager how to act?" Alexander Lukashenko stressed that comparing prices and finding partners is the business of the enterprises themselves. At the same time, in some cases, it is economically feasible and profitable to work with an intermediary – such situations also occur, he added. The head of state stated that Resolution No. 991 actually created a system of legalized intermediaries. "That is, there is no competition. In fact, we would monopolize this sphere," noted Alexander Lukashenko. "And most importantly, this document violated the principle of collegiality of the government's work," he emphasized. "After all, the government is a collegial body where all ministers must participate in the discussion of certain decisions. The government, and not just the prime minister. In this case, the prime minister and someone else together instructed some official in the Government Apparatus (note, not even in the Ministry of Trade, but in the Council of Ministers Apparatus) to prepare this resolution. They quickly prepared it in a day without discussion with the members of the government, the prime minister signed it – hooray, it was adopted!.. And if they had submitted the draft of this resolution for consideration by the entire government, it would never have passed: the Ministry of Economy would have objected, and the Ministry of Trade would have too," the President explained. Alexander Lukashenko added that if such a normative act were implemented, the consequences for the Belarusian economy could be disastrous. "After all, it is illogical: we give great freedom of action to enterprise managers and at the same time tie their hands, dictating what they should buy from whom," he exclaimed indignantly. The President noted that unjustified intermediation in procurement by state enterprises should be a cause for concern. "If a private individual has an intermediary, it is their business who to buy from. But a private individual will not overpay, you know this. And we can control the actions of state enterprises, there are many ways," explained the head of state. "Ultimately, the enterprise manager will still be held accountable for all their actions. This accountability will be expressed not by the volume of production, but by the amount of profit," said the President. Alexander Lukashenko, at the request of journalists, spoke about what happened behind closed doors at the informal CSTO summit in Kyrgyzstan. According to him, all speculations in the Russian media about pressure on Belarus regarding the signing of the agreement on the creation of Collective Operational Response Forces are nothing more than provocation; no one exerted such pressure on Belarus at the summit. "Absolutely no one tried to pressure me, because they know how it will end. If they pressure me, it will have the opposite effect," emphasized the head of state. "There was no blackmail or pressure." "Don't believe what they wrote in Russia. They provoke more: look, we'll throw this into the media and see how they react. Ordinary provocateurs," added Alexander Lukashenko. "And I also spoke about this in my speech at the CSTO summit." The President noted that at the meeting of the heads of state of the CSTO member states, "there were attempts to ask the question" whether Belarus would sign the document on the creation of CORF. "I said: the answer is direct – this is my question, and I will decide when and what to sign. Will Belarus accept the chairmanship of the CSTO? And this decision will be mine," said the head of the Belarusian state. Alexander Lukashenko stressed that his non-participation in the Moscow CSTO summit does not mean that Belarus is against integration processes, including in the military-political sphere. "But I ask the question: tell me, what should I defend for you, for what should our guys die, if suddenly?... For what? For the fact that they don't let us into the markets of Russia? For the fact that we cannot get energy resources from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, for the fact that they charge us exorbitant prices? Dead silence