All reconstructed farms in the Vitebsk region will be equipped with milking parlors and robots

August 22, Tolochin District / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The Vitebsk region is revising the plans for the reconstruction of dairy farms and is abandoning farms with milk pipelines. This was announced today at a seminar-meeting with heads of districts and enterprises involved in the farm reconstruction program by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Kosinets, BELTA correspondent reports. In compliance with the instructions of the head of state given on August 21 during the visit to agro-combines "Dzerzhinsky" and "Zhdanovichi", all farms in the Vitebsk region planned for reconstruction in 2012 will be commissioned with milking parlors and robots. Earlier, it was planned to commission only 43 out of 228 farms with milking parlors and robots, then their number increased to 96. The remaining 132 farms were intended to be equipped with milk pipelines. "We need to reconstruct old farms into dairy complexes, a kind of biotechnological complexes with milking parlors, and livestock housing facilities: from calves to the milking herd," emphasized Alexander Kosinets. Speaking about the reconstruction of farms, the governor stressed that the implementation of this task will not only increase milk and meat production volumes but also give an impetus to the revival of the village. There are over 6,000 settlements in the Vitebsk region. During the program for the revival and development of the village, 254 settlements became agro-towns. However, the remaining settlements have not received proper development. "The appearance of a livestock complex in such a village is an opportunity for people to get decent work, it is an attraction of additional personnel, and ultimately, an increase in the village population," the chairman of the regional executive committee is confident. Alexander Kosinets drew the attention of district heads and chairmen of district councils to the need for a comprehensive approach to farm reconstruction. "Along with the farm, it is necessary to put the roads in order, improve the settlements, and revive the social sphere. The main thing for us is people," he stressed. The reconstruction of 228 farms is planned to be completed by the end of the current year. In the future, by 2015, it is planned to reconstruct over 500 dairy farms with milk pipelines into complexes with milking parlors in the region. In addition to repairs, seven dairy complexes are planned to be built in the region this year. Funds for the implementation of these plans must be raised primarily by increasing milk and meat production volumes and their sales, emphasized Alexander Kosinets. -0-