Business news

BRASLAV DISTRICT, 4 August (BelTA) – There is a need to adapt to the natural conditions and make the most of them for agriculture, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said when talking to journalists during the working trip to Vitebsk Oblast, BelTA has learned.

The President explained that the purpose of his working visit to Vitebsk Oblast is not to spur the harvesting campaign. “The people themselves know when to harvest. The purpose of my trip is another one. Having appointed the new governor to Vitebsk Oblast, I tasked him to sort things out with crop rotation and to decide what crops we will cultivate and what animals we will breed here. It is the second year that we have been working on this. This territory is not well suited for grain crops or corn. It is almost impossible to cultivate them in some places. Therefore we need to adapt to the climate. The Governor and his team face the challenge to find ways to adapt to nature and make the agriculture work in the most efficient way here,” Alexander Lukashenko said

According to the head of state, the development of eco- and agro-tourism should rely on the same principle. “In Braslav District there are a lot of idle land plots of 1.5-3 hectares. We need to give them to people so that they could use them to develop ecotourism, build houses and tidy the land up. The topic of today's conversation is how to make the most of everything that Vitebsk Oblast is rich,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

Alexander Lukashenko believes that 2016 was good for agriculture in terms of the weather. “It rains sometimes, but everybody is complaining. But we should understand that harvest is not only about grain crops. These are also potatoes and beets and other crops. These are gardens. They need the moisture. Last year we had a terribly dry summer. Groundwater level dropped very low, rivers and lakes dried out. It is good that this year is rainy,” the President added.