The number of unprofitable agricultural enterprises in the Vitebsk region will be reduced through their reorganization

Issues of rural economy recovery were discussed at a meeting in Polotsk, which was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Mikhail Rusy, Minister of Agriculture and Food Leonid Zayats, heads of the region and ten districts of the western wing of Vitebsk region.

Opening the meeting, Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Alexander Kosinets called on its participants for a serious, frank conversation, the purpose of which is to analyze the situation and make proposals for improving the work of the agro-industrial complex. A special interdepartmental working group to solve problematic issues in the agro-industrial complex, created in February 2014 under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Belarus, has already prepared a package of documents in this regard. Now discussions are underway in different regions of the country, and the final republican meeting with the participation of the head of state will be held at the end of May.

(Answering the question of what hinders progress today, Mikhail Rusy pointed to significant violations of technological discipline, negligence, and mismanagement. Losses due to these reasons across the country are estimated by experts at 11 to 14 trillion rubles, including 2.4 trillion in the Vitebsk region. In addition, in a number of farms, the costs of production exceed the revenue from its sale, which is a violation of the fundamental principles of production. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the draft four decrees of the President prepared by the working group will significantly improve the working conditions of farmers, so that they can earn money for the successful development of the regions. No one intends to write off debts, but economic solutions will be found for each case.

A detailed analysis of the state of affairs in the region's agro-industrial complex was presented at the meeting by the Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Eduard Demyanov. It was noted that over the past five years, tremendous work has been done to modernize and re-equip the industry, which has led to tangible results in many areas. Positive dynamics were observed throughout the five-year period, with the exception of the unsuccessful year 2013. Initially, the region was in a worse starting position than others, but it managed to overcome the lag and moved forward in milk and meat production, reaching a gross grain harvest of one million tons. Almost 14 thousand units of agricultural machinery were acquired, and 375 dairy farms were reconstructed. If previously there were 488 farms in animal husbandry with bucket milking, now there are only 39 left. If feed was imported from outside Vitebsk region, now farms are provided with them, their quality has improved, and feeding has been mechanized. In total, over the five-year period, 13 trillion rubles were spent on the implementation of programs related to the development of the agro-industrial complex. However, after the devaluation of 2011 and the increase in interest rates on loans, debt obligations increased, and the financial condition of business entities deteriorated.

At the meeting, the proposals of the Regional Executive Committee for solving problems in the agro-industrial complex were announced. Among them are: to grant deferral and installment payments for all loans, to eliminate the price disparity between industrial and agricultural products, to increase the interest of agricultural organization managers by transferring to them ownership of a package of shares in a managed joint-stock company, and to improve personnel training for rural areas. In addition, in Vitebsk region, it is planned to reduce the number of unprofitable farms by reorganizing, selling, or declaring them bankrupt: out of 266 agricultural organizations, 170 should remain.

The recommendations of the interdepartmental working group echo these proposals. The prepared documents, as noted by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Leonid Zayats, are a kind of “roadmap”, defining the path for the recovery of the agro-industrial complex. Measures for direct economic stimulation and elimination of price disparity are envisaged. The mechanisms for providing state support have been improved. Bank loans will become more accessible, and state orders will be attractive to producers. Starting from 2015, it is planned to switch to market pricing with compensation for losses to certain categories of the population. A number of measures have been taken for the successful restructuring of loss-making organizations. For example, if a neighboring farm or investor acquires management and ownership rights, it is proposed to grant these investors and integrators a deferral of up to 5 years for fulfilling obligations on long-term investment loans, as well as leasing.

All this, the minister emphasized, will allow us to reach a higher level of management, increase the material interest and prestige of working in rural areas. At the same time, a special directive will define measures of personnel responsibility. It was noted at the meeting that in identical conditions, some farms and regions achieve success, while others work significantly below their capabilities. After all, much depends on the leader, his initiative, level of training, ability to create a cohesive team, take care of people, and organize their work correctly.

Summing up the results of the meeting, the chairman of the regional executive committee Alexander Kosinets identified the main tasks: increasing the responsibility of leaders, strengthening production and technological discipline, and continuously improving qualification levels. At the same time, he called the measures of an educational rather than repressive nature more effective. Regarding production indicators, Alexander Nikolaevich urged leaders to feel like masters of the land and strive for maximum results in order to ultimately ensure a decent quality of life for people.

Larisa Malashenya, "Vitebskiye vesti"