/ News
16.08.2019

Lukashenko highlights importance of good farming practices

STARYYE DOROGI DISTRICT (BelTA) – During his working trip to Staryye Dorogi District, Minsk Oblast, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has emphasized the importance of good farming practices and proper management of the harvesting effort, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko asked about progress in cropping spike cereals. He was told that only 5 % of crops, including oat and barley, are to be harvested. The head of state noted that these crops should be harvested at an earlier time than other cereal crops, in particular in view of the rainy weather.

“Oat and barley should have been harvested a long time ago. I have raised this topic for a reason. I warned you that the most important thing during this harvesting season is a good harvesting strategy. We keep talking about harvesting. Journalists (they are not experts in this) have jumped at this topic and inflated it. It is the second stage of harvesting. The first stage dealt with grass harvesting. The second stage involved harvesting of grain crops, which no longer dominates the harvesting agenda anymore, because we reduced area under grain crops and planted more corn and rapeseed. Harvesting spike cereals is not the number-one task now. We still have to harvest vast areas under potatoes and sugar beet. This is what we should focus on, the harvesting of these crops has just started,” the head of state said.

“This is why I have told you about the strategy. Do not wait for good weather. We still have 10-13 % of crops to harvest, these is good grain and we need to harvest it properly,” the Belarusian leader said.

Agriculture and Food Minister Anatoly Khotko told reporters that nearly 85 % of farmland has been cropped in Belarus by now. Some 326,000 hectares of land still has to be cleared. Most of unharvested land is located in Vitebsk Oblast (131,800 hectares) and the least in Brest Oblast (4,200 hectares).