The best agricultural workers of the region were honored in Vitebsk
The head of the region recalled that today the results of the Vitebsk region's harvest festival are being summed up, the start of which was given in a solemn ceremony on September 29 in Sharkovshchina:
- We honor true professionals of the grain fields, livestock complexes, engineers and agronomists, veterinarians and zootechnicians, specialists of food production and specialized research institutes, heads of farms and enterprises – all of you who ensure the food security of our country. Your work is of great importance for the development of the region's economy and social stability in the region. I wish you good health, happiness, success in achieving your goals and conquering new heights! Peace and prosperity! Happy holiday!
The head of the region emphasized that 2023 was not the most favorable year for crop production in the Vitebsk region. To achieve results, rural workers did a large volume of work, invested considerable material costs and colossal human efforts. The region was able to fully provide itself with its own seeds of grain and leguminous crops, rapeseed, potatoes, flax, and perennial grasses. Issues of providing machine operator personnel and diesel fuel were resolved in a timely manner. The readiness of agricultural machinery was maintained at the proper level. The sowing plans for all agricultural crops were completed within the deadlines set by the Head of State and the Government.
Crop formation took place under extremely harsh weather conditions due to precipitation deficit. From April 11 to June 10, 2023, the region received only 62 mm of precipitation, or 32% of the norm. The short growing season, coupled with insufficient moisture and abnormal heat, prevented the full utilization of the potential invested in crop formation, stated Alexander Subbotin:
- However, the meticulous work carried out in previous years to improve the region's agricultural production, increase its efficiency – by implementing a scientifically based crop structure, using high-yielding plant varieties, high-performance machinery, and training personnel to work in modern conditions – all contributed to the region harvesting over 810 thousand tons of grain, including cereals, cruciferous crops, and corn.
Half of this year's grain harvest is accounted for by five districts of the region, emphasized the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin, at the ceremony honoring the region's best agricultural workers in Vitebsk.
According to him, this year no district managed to reach last year's grain threshing levels. However, there are clear leaders:
- The maximum gross yield in the Orsha district was 90 thousand tons of grain. A significant contribution to the overall harvest was made by the Vitebsk district (73 thousand tons), Tolochin district (55 thousand tons), Postavy district (54 thousand tons), and Dubrovno district (52 thousand tons). These five districts alone harvested 52 percent of the total grain yield in the region.
The head of the region also reported that the region's agricultural workers harvested 87.7 thousand tons of rapeseed oilseeds, or 105% of the previous year's level. At the same time, the Orsha district showed the highest rapeseed yield – 26.3 centners per hectare, and SPC "Larinovka" and agro-combine "Yubileiny" achieved record yields – 39.6 and 35.7 centners per hectare, respectively.
A good potato harvest was grown, with each hectare yielding almost 400 centners of tubers. The main potato producer, RUP "Tolochin Cannery," once again confirmed its leadership. From an area of 1.1 thousand hectares, 50.5 thousand tons were harvested with an average yield of 459 centners of tubers per hectare.
For public animal husbandry, 23 centners of forage per conventional head of cattle were procured. This volume is sufficient for the wintering of livestock.
This year, over a thousand combine harvester crews worked in the Vitebsk region during the harvest. The chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin, spoke about the results of the best performers.
According to him, 212 combine crews surpassed the thousand-ton mark, and 22 crews surpassed the two-thousand-ton mark. One crew exceeded the three-thousand-ton mark. These were Andrey Shendrik and Dmitry Glushakov from "Yakubovo-Agro" of the Dubrovno district, who threshed 3 thousand and 17 tons:
- The absolute record of this year's harvest – over 4 thousand tons – was set by Maxim Sernov from the Yubileiny agro-combine of the Orsha district and Alexander Zyabko from the closed joint-stock company "Vitebskagroproduct". Maxim Sernov has been among the winners of the harvest since 2017. He started among the youth crews. Alexander Zyabko has been among the winners for the second year in a row. This year he took second place.
Among the youth crews, the best result of 2 thousand 653 tons was shown by Ilya Lazarenko from the Yubileiny Agro-combine of the Orsha district. By the way, this year is significant for the agro-combine, as four of its combine crews were among the winners of the regional "Dazhynki" festival.
Among drivers involved in grain transportation from harvesters, high performance was achieved by Viktor Gorbachevsky from the Zadneprovsky branch of the Orsha district (about 5.2 thousand tons), Sergey Puzyrev from the Pridneprovsky enterprise of the Dubrovno district (almost 5 thousand tons). Among young drivers, the leaders were Andrey Bugaev from Yakubovo-Agro of the Dubrovno district and Vitaly Daineko from the Yubileiny agro-combine.
In the agro-industrial complex of the Vitebsk region, it is necessary to more actively form the fodder base.
According to the head of the region, the trend of growth in livestock production is maintained in the region. For milk, this indicator shows a growth of over 103%. Accordingly, the productivity of the dairy herd has been increased. A good result has been achieved in pig farming. To increase the efficiency of the industry, a livestock development program for the near future has been developed, which includes the construction of dairy farms, reconstruction and technical re-equipment of facilities for keeping young cattle, pigs, and poultry. In addition, within the framework of the Head of State's instruction to transfer all breeding stock to modern complexes, annual schedules for the construction of such complexes have been approved, stated Alexander Subbotin:
- We understand that a strong feed base needs to be created. Therefore, the main task is feed harvesting, increasing the sowing of alfalfa and clover. This year, when grasses and pastures burned out due to high abnormal temperatures, we increased the sowing of intermediate crops to avoid losing feed.
The Vitebsk region will continue to work on enhancing the prestige of labor in the agricultural sector.
The tools for action are obvious, the head of the region is convinced:
- It is necessary to form positive motivation for the profession through an attractive system of material incentives. A serious step in this direction has been taken. The salaries of machine operators and specialists in the livestock industry have been adjusted upwards. The average monthly salary in the region's agricultural organizations amounted to 1,250 rubles, which is 20% higher than last year.
A fundamentally new approach is also being adopted in the personnel training system for the agricultural sector, noted Alexander Subbotin:
- Today, there are serious tasks, the solution of which we see in nurturing a new generation of agrarians, attracting youth to continuous agricultural education, and career guidance for students, starting from school. Such work is being carried out. Agroclasses operate in each district, and individual work is carried out with students on choosing a future profession in the agricultural sector.
Specialized secondary and higher educational institutions are designed to strengthen these positions, where the duration of industrial practice has been doubled. At the same time, it is fully paid. And only advanced farms are chosen as the base.
The head of the region also emphasized that employers in the rural sector should directly participate in the formation of professional teams for their enterprises. One of the methods is targeted training of in-demand personnel:
- Vitebsk region strives to create the most attractive conditions for young specialists. The agro-industrial complex has always been famous for its professionals, whose labor is respected and honored. Today, the industry faces big, ambitious tasks. And their solution will depend on the level of training of our personnel, their ability to work and love what they do.
