Events
Lukashenko calls for rapid harvesting amid difficult weather conditions
MINSK, 23 July (BelTA) – A good harvest has formed in the fields, and it needs to be harvested quickly due to the specific weather conditions, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said while making personnel desicions, BelTA has learned.
He noted that Belarus is experiencing rather unusual weather and expressed hope that the situation will stabilize soon. At the same time, he warned against expecting any drastic change. “We shouldn’t hope that the rain will suddenly stop. But still, you will agree this is better than 43-45 degrees,” he told local authorities. “All of Europe is suffering from the heat.”
He emphasized that a good harvest is currently standing in the fields and must be gathered despite the weather. “The harvest in the fields is excellent, we need to gather it rapidly. Not just harvest it,” he stressed. “We need the right tactics. Farmers should be helped by city residents and everyone who can.”
The harvest must not only be gathered but also dried. In this regard, the head of state once again drew attention to the need to ensure the reliability of the grain-drying facilities. “The grain processing sites and dryers must be in proper condition to ensure sorting and drying the grain,” he added.
“And we must prepare the soil for sowing winter crops, winter rapeseed. This is the number one issue. Naturally, the fields also need to be harvested. There is a great deal of work for agrarians,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.
The president also spoke about the need to maintain technological discipline. “Once again, discipline must be present, but not punitive discipline. That is wrong. Discipline must be above all technological. If the technology requires sowing within certain timeframes, it must be done. If it requires harvesting, it must be harvested. These are not our arbitrary demands; this is how the technology works today,” he said, addressing local government officials. “Look at the people you will be working with. Don’t try to force them to do something. Power must, above all, be smart. But if you see that you cannot work with people because they don’t want to work, all the necessary methods have already been defined.”
In this context, the head of state recalled that during the recent video conference to discuss the 2026 harvest campaign, an instruction was given to draft into the army undisciplined and negligent workers. Later, Head of the Belarus President Administration Dmitry Krutoi held a meeting at the Osipovichi District Executive Committee, where this topic was also discussed.
“When he reported to me, I thought: good job, he gathered a group of district executive committee heads, talked to them, explained everything. Go ahead, guys, work. If you don’t work, we will send you to the army for re-education, even though [Defense Minister Viktor] Khrenin said it is not re-education. It is. We are not sending them to prison. Let them get acquainted with all sorts of insects in the forest, and then they will understand that working in the fields isn’t so bad. Sometimes you have to use such methods,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
He pointed out that it is the local leaders who will have to implement the tasks set by the head of state. “Everyone says: ‘It is easy for the president, he sets the task, and we have to carry it out.’ In part, that’s true, although setting these tasks isn’t easy either, because you have to be responsible for them. And you are like on glass: everyone is watching, criticizing from our self-exiled opposition to those inside the country. There are plenty of smart people. Not everyone wants to work, but everyone knows how to act smart,” the president noted.
“Technological discipline must be maintained both in finances and in the field,” the Belarusian leader summed up.
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