News & Events in Belarus
Lukashenko wants good pace and high quality of harvesting effort
An archive photo
MINSK, 23 July (BelTA) – At a session in Minsk on 23 July Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko demanded quality, speed and effort while harvesting crops, BelTA has learned.
The head of state emphasized that harvesting is the culmination of all agricultural works: “This is the most important stage of agricultural works and it will largely determine what will be in warehouses and on the tables of Belarusians and people outside Belarus. I mean export.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that the situation in the field is rather complicated because of the technological state of crops. Weather conditions are difficult to predict and the situation can deteriorate dramatically. “Therefore, I earnestly ask and demand that you do everything fast. Do not wait till grain will dry in the field. Judging by the previous experience, we should harvest problem-ridden fields, because if the weather deteriorates tomorrow it will not be possible to do it,” the president said.
“Weather conditions, someone calls them abnormal, affected the formation of spring crops. In these conditions we will have to harvest flax, rapeseed and grain at the same time,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
In this regard, the president gave an instruction regarding the structure of crops for the future: “I have consulted with specialists and now I am nearly 100% sure that we need to increase the area under winter barley. Today our average yield is about 33-35 centners per hectare, while that of winter barley is almost 50 centners per hectare. If we sow winter barley, as well as any crop at the technologically right time, its yield will be 50-60 centners per hectare.”
“What else do we need? If the yield of all crops [grain crops] were 50 centners per hectare, we would not need anything else. We would not need oil and gas [Belarus would be able to meet its economic needs even without vast deposits of mineral resources]. And we can have it. Therefore, we should increase the area under winter barley. In fact, today when we are about to embark on mass harvesting of grain, we see that winter barley has already ripened due to the short growing season and we have already harvested it. If we had more winter barley with the yield of 50 centners per hectare - we would be in perfect order,” the head of state said.
Therefore, the president urged not only to increase the winter barley areas but also to observe all processes technologically. “We usually have a drought in mid-July, but this is no longer dangerous for winter barley,” Aleksandr Lukashenko cited another argument.
The head of state also instructed to conduct an appropriate experiment in his hometown.
Returning to the topic of harvesting, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the situation is aggravated by extremely tight deadlines and simultaneous harvesting of perennial grasses. In this regard, he gave a number of instructions.
“Within a short period of time, agricultural works should be arranged properly so that everything could be done in time, including fodder procurement and grain harvesting. Thus, pace and quality are the main requirements for the upcoming harvesting period. At the same time, it is necessary to prevent grain losses at all costs,” the head of state said.
He asked the State Control Committee, law enforcement agencies to monitor the use of farm machines, especially combine harvesters, in order to prevent grain losses, for which it is necessary to observe a number of technological conditions. According to the head of state, this also can help save about 600,000-700,000 tonnes of grain.
The president criticized the low yield of rapeseed in the country.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the government has done everything and even more to ensure successful harvesting. The government also provided funds for equipment and fuel. “The only thing that remains to be done is to organize the whole process,” the president noted.
The head of state demanded that harvesting should be completed in the optimal agro-technical period. In this regard, he demanded that officials in charge of the agricultural industry should submit reports on a number of issues.
Firstly, the president wanted to know what else should be done to prepare harvesting equipment for work, whether spare parts are in good supply and how operational maintenance and repair are organized, because at this moment, according to available information, about 9% of grain harvesters are out of service.
“I instruct the State Control Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to inspect the farms and audit the vehicle fleet to see whether any machines stand idle today. The prosecutor general will join the effort too. After that, we will evaluate the performance of every governor. Do not expect financial assistance in the future if cases of mismanagement are detected,” the head of state warned.
In addition, the regulatory authorities have identified the cases of theft of spare parts, fuels and lubricants, as well as false reporting on equipment readiness. “I have been meaning to deal with this issue for a long time. Workers stealing from their companies have recently become extremely brazen. I ask you to nip this issue in the bud, to say nothing that it is morally wrong,” the head of state demanded. “Theft must be nipped in the bud."
Secondly, Aleksandr Lukashenko wanted updates on the readiness of grain drying complexes. According to the Agriculture and Food Ministry, some 10% of them are not yet ready to receive grain. “I will also ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Control Committee and the Prosecutor General to take control of this issue too,” he instructed.
In this regard, the following question arises: how will the production capacities of bakery factories be used? Acceptance of grain of any moisture content must be ongoing around the clock, and the state procurement targets must be fulfilled, the Belarusian leader emphasized.
“This pertains not only to state procurement. If a farm has no place to dry grain or its complex is overstretched, the heads of oblast and district executive committees should make administrative decisions on site,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The head of state ordered to determine grain prices bakeries pay to farms, so that there would be no complaints from farmers.
According to preliminary information, this year's grain is suitable for high-quality baking, the head of state said. “We need to procure more such domestic grain for baking. We need to buy as much as we planned and maybe even more. There may not be such grain next year. Bakery complexes need to ensure smooth grain acceptance and processing. They also need to pay farmers in full,” the Belarusian leader said.
The third issue, which the president mentioned, concerned the situation with farm machine operators. In his words, there is a shortage of about 1,500 combine harvester operators. “It is outrageous. It means that you, governors, did not prepare for harvesting” the head of state said. According to the president, they have forgotten the Soviet times when everything went like clockwork. He urged to ensure such order here.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, industrial enterprises should provide assistance to the countryside, both with technical means and human resources. “All workers involved in harvesting should be provided with everything they need, including three meals a day, if necessary. They also need to be paid well. Farmers are waiting for harvesting to earn money. Everyone has children - schoolchildren, students. People's wellbeing is the most important factor here,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Fourthly, the head of state wants order and discipline enforced in the sector. “Everything I have just talked about is impossible to achieve without discipline and order. This primarily concerns protection of harvesting and grain drying machinery and crops from fires,” the president said. “We should also crack down on grain thieves. Any violations of work discipline, including negligence, alcohol abuse, under-performance, are unacceptable. Not only at work places, but also in general,” he stressed.
Fifthly, we should not forget about subsidiary plots of individuals, around 70,000 hectares of which are planted to grain crops and can yield around 200,000 tonnes of grain, Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out. “This is a good addition. As always, I ask you to help people crop this harvest. Please, do it in time, before rainy weather sets in. Every household should have at least a low-capacity harvester to help people work the field. If we assist them, they will want to continue growing grain crops,” the head of state said.
The aim of the meeting is to ensure that harvesting runs smoothly and on schedule, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “The result will heavily depend on your capability to manage human resources and machinery. We should draw up an annual strategy of activities depending on weather conditions that are, unfortunately, out of our control,” he noted.
Firm discipline is key to successful harvesting, the president believes. He called for tougher punishment for violations and for more effective measures to eliminate shortcomings. “There should be no negligence – everyone should focus on their work to collect the harvest from the fields,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
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