Lukashenko: Further modernization of agriculture is number one task for Belarus

“Further modernization of agriculture is the number one task today. Another important task is to help struggling farms,” said the head of state.

The president first asked Deputy Prime Minister Leonid Zayats about his assessment of the work in the agricultural sector of Krupki District.

“Positive one,” the deputy prime minister replied and cited a number of growth figures. Work on the lands, which were transferred to the agricultural company Agrokombinat Dzerzhinsky, has become significantly efficient.

The president said that half of the farms work well across the country. Half of the rest are farms which will survive with some help and support, he said. A quarter of all farms need to be saved. “There is workforce and fertile land there,” said the Belarusian leader.

In his words, there are several ways to implement this task.

Some agricultural enterprises and land will have to be merged in order to set up new farms virtually from scratch, as it was done, for example, in Myadel District.

Other farms will be attached to industrial enterprises. Such practice has been already gained pace in the country. “It will be fair. After all, industrial enterprises lure people out of the village. Therefore, they should pay their debts,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. The head of state has recently agreed on the appropriate approaches while on a visit to Gomel Oblast.

“We will continue attaching unprofitable farms to industrial enterprises,” added the head of state.

The example of Krupki District shows a third way, which is the coincidence of interests. On the one hand, there were lands in the district that did not give the desired result. On the other hand, there was a large processor and producer in Minsk Oblast – Agrokombinat Dzerzhinsky, which needed additional agricultural land for production. Instead of imports, the company took land in Krupki District and set up efficient production there.