The gross grain harvest in the Vitebsk region increased by 30%

The gross grain harvest in the Vitebsk region this year reached 980 thousand tons, and including personal subsidiary plots of the population and farmers, it exceeded 1 million tons, which is 30% more than in 2018. This was announced today by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Sherstnev, at a press conference dedicated to the development of the region's agro-industrial complex and the regional festival-fair of village workers "Dazhynki".

According to the governor, everything was done to achieve a different result: according to specialists, there were about 1.2 million tons of grain in the region's fields. The weather did not allow the region to reach this level: in the spring, there was no rain in the western part of the region for two months, and in the midst of the harvest season, two weeks of continuous rain led to lodging of grain crops and weed overgrowth.

"At the same time, the sowing campaign was carried out in an organized manner. The yield was higher than last year's level, and the state order for grain supply was fulfilled. In terms of grain production per 1 ball-hectare of arable land, with a figure of 106 kg, the Vitebsk region ranked second after the Brest region (112 kg). Two districts - Orsha and Vitebsk - overcame the 100-thousand-ton threshing," noted the chairman of the regional executive committee.

Nikolai Sherstnev emphasized that the region's farmers can adapt to climatic features, which are a key factor in agriculture for northern lands. For this, all technological regulations must be strictly observed, energy-intensive equipment must be used, and people must be interested in the results of their work. In this regard, systematic work is being carried out with farmers, including young personnel, on their professional training and material incentives for labor, and new equipment is being acquired for farms.

Serious attention is paid to the improvement of arable land. "The area of arable land in previous years in the Vitebsk region was 1.1 million hectares. Now it is about 800 thousand hectares, however, they also need to be brought into compliance with the required standards in order to obtain a good harvest. Currently, we are not touching unused, waterlogged lands, but working with those that are part of the crop rotation. Every year we improve about 10 thousand hectares of arable land and adjacent lands," said the chairman of the regional executive committee. Nikolai Sherstnev expressed confidence that in the next five years the situation in crop production in the region will change dramatically, and the first results will be visible in the next three to four years.

BELTA.