Conference call to discuss harvesting

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko held a conference call on 18 July to discuss harvesting.

The head of state noted that the country is going through the most critical stage of agricultural work, which will have a huge impact on the nation's food supply.

"The harvesting of grain, leguminous crops and other crops can be complicated by rain, storms, high temperature and other unfavorable environmental factors. All these are objective circumstances that can predictably lead to lodging of crops, weed proliferation, and premature germination of grains. All possible risks can and should be minimized. This is why we are holding this meeting. We need to identify bottlenecks, agree on approaches, and develop a strategy for harvesting in these conditions," said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

In connection with the partial lodging of crops, the head of state asked whether all combines are equipped with stem lifters and dividers for harvesting lodged grain crops.

"The output of agricultural products in the first half of the year dropped by slightly more than 2% year-on-year. The decline is linked to pig farming practices and challenges in animal feed procurement. But it is necessary to prevent a potential yearly drop in agricultural output and to compensate for the shortfalls by shifting emphasis towards plant-based production. We harvested the first cut of grass very early, which led to lower volumes and potentially reduced quality. But the grass of the second cut, and somewhere the third cut, is growing well," the President said. "Flexible work management is needed to ensure efficient forage procurement and timely grain harvesting. This must be done very quickly, despite the current weather conditions," the President said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that it is critical to make sure that all the necessary harvesting machinery is in perfect order. According to him, clear organization of work and appropriate rewards for quality are crucial for productivity.

"Let me remind you: the government has done everything possible to ensure smooth harvesting. Therefore, maximum dedication is required from everyone - from a manager to a machine operator," the Belarusian leader emphasized.

"According to the government, the projected gross grain harvest in bunker weight may reach around 11 million tonnes, which is exactly what we need. This is what is currently in the fields and needs to be harvested without any losses," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

At the same time, the State Control Committee, the Prosecutor General's Office, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed the President that some regions were not well prepared for the harvest season. For instance, grain harvesters and drying complexes remained inoperable.

Some of the repaired harvesters have not passed technical inspection, which, according to the President, leads to increased workload on the few functioning machines.

"Grain harvesters are not operational on nearly one out of three inspected farms across the country. Some organizations have not even started repairs due to a lack of spare parts and skilled operators. Several agricultural enterprises have not prepared storage facilities to receive the harvest. In many cases, fuel and spare parts have not been properly secured, which could lead to loss of productive time. Once again, we continue to struggle with false reporting. In 5% of the inspected farms, equipment was declared ready only on paper. Who are these people trying to deceive?" Aleksandr Lukashenko outlined the challenges.

According to the head of state, the harvesting campaign has just begun, but the State Control Committee has already identified cases of poor-quality harvesting. Violations were recorded in individual farms in Svisloch District and Soligorsk District. A similar situation is occurring with fodder preparation, where low grass harvesting rates are due to malfunctioning equipment. In many farms, nitrogen fertilization of perennial grasses was not carried out on time.

As of 14 July, the first cutting of perennial grass in Vitebsk Oblast was still unfinished on nearly 20,000 hectares. The President inquired about the causes of that and which farms are struggling to cope with the work.