Vitebsk region intends to engage in turkey meat production

Vitebsk region intends to engage in turkey meat production. This was announced at a meeting of the regional executive committee by Vladimir Mashero, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the regional executive committee.

Reporting on the issue "On the progress of the Poultry Development Program in the Republic of Belarus in 2011-2015 and prospects until 2020", the speaker noted that preparations are underway in the region to grow turkeys. "In order to supply the children's food workshops of the Orsha Meat Canning Plant with dietary meat, as well as to fulfill the orders of retail chains, it is planned to start growing turkeys from September at the Gorodok poultry farm. The Vitebsk Broiler Poultry Farm will also be involved in this. It is planned to produce 2.5 thousand tons of meat," emphasized Vladimir Mashero.

According to Nikolai Sherstnev, Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, developing new directions in poultry farming will allow the industry to develop more successfully (this refers to ducks, geese, and turkeys). "Turkey meat is of particular value because it has anti-allergic properties and can improve the quality of any meat product. We should develop poultry farming in such a way as to increase turkey meat production, and it makes sense to create new workshops for these needs," said the head of the region.

Addressing the problems of poultry farming in general, he stressed that the main one is the high cost of production. Therefore, the priority task is to find ways to reduce production costs. Without this, the industry cannot be competitive in the foreign market, and within Belarus, there is currently an overproduction of chicken meat and eggs.

Nikolai Sherstnev is convinced that the industry's economy can be improved through optimization, the development of effective technology, and the creation of a closed production cycle. "All actions should be aimed at improving economic indicators. High-performance and profitable production facilities should be created on the existing base," the head of the region emphasized.

He noted that an integrated structure is being created on the basis of the Vitebsk Broiler Poultry Farm, which will also include the Gorodok Poultry Farm. The merged enterprises will have a unified branded sales network and their own compound feeds - the construction of a feed mill is nearing completion. "This will positively affect the cost of production, as compound feeds account for 70% of it," Nikolai Sherstnev emphasized.

According to the governor, the region's poultry farming enterprises should seriously address the issue of reproduction in order to avoid purchasing hatching eggs and chicks from other regions and abroad, but instead sell surplus breeding stock and earn additional money from it.

Alena Tikhonova, BELTA.