Speaking at the Republican Dazhynki-2013 Festival of Rural Workers, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced that agrarian branch guarantees the country’s food security while accounting for a huge share of Belarusian exports
As is traditional, this holiday sums up the results of the grain harvesting campaign. Dazhynki is already 17 years old and today the major event of the festival-fair is the honouring of harvest time heroes who get the ‘Belarusian gold’, named bread, with their rough hands, mastery and self-sacrificing labour.
Each year, one of Belarusian towns becomes the centre of festive celebrations and the whole country helps this town improve for the festivity while solving many vital issues. Zhlobin — the current capital of Dazhynki — has acquired its second youth over a short period of time. Over 300 sites have been built and reconstructed, houses and streets have been renewed and the railway, connecting it with Minsk, has been electrified.
“What we see today in the festival capital confirms the established truth that lies at the heart of our policy: if we work harder we will live a better life,” noted Alexander Lukashenko. “Contemporary, successfully and dynamically developing agricultural industry guarantees food security of the country while accounting for a huge share of Belarusian exports.”
According to the President, the situation in agriculture largely influences the sustainable economic development, which means independence. Mr. Lukashenko accentuated that over the last twenty years the country has covered a way from food tokens and empty counters to an abundance of foodstuffs. Moreover, Belarusian exports of agricultural products are now estimated at $5 billion. Sovereign Belarus, like no other CIS member state, has established a reliable foundation for the agro-industrial complex. Belarus has powerful enterprises producing tractors, vehicles, farm machines, and fertilisers. These companies meet the domestic demand while actively promoting their goods on the international market.
The Head of State said that the achievements of the agricultural industry are obvious. For a number of years, Belarus has been leading the CIS in terms of per capita production of major agricultural products, while being on a par with Ukraine and Kazakhstan in grain production. Moreover, Belarus has approached Germany in terms of meat production and is almost two times ahead of developed European countries in terms of milk production. The relatively small country is in the top five in the world for dairy exports.
“Dazhynki is not only a harvest fest but also a chance to talk about the future of our agrarian industry,” noted the President.
In his words, the state invests almost $2bn in the agrarian sector every year. The President stressed that in the nearest future such support will be targeted, only for agricultural development programmes and quick-yielding investment projects.
As is traditional, Mr. Lukashenko awarded winners of the national competition in harvesting grain crops and grain legumes, who occupied first places in 2013. These were awarded passenger cars and money prizes.
A wide cultural and entertaining programme was also organized for the participants and guests of the event, whose major event became the concert of masters of arts — Festival Gomel Region — to Rural Workers of the Republic of Belarus.
Mr. Lukashenko also took part in festive opening of passenger electric trains movement along the electrified section Osipovichi-Zhlobin.
The President was also informed about the completion of the work to electrify this railway section, as well as about plans to electrify other parts of the Belarusian railways until 2020. The implementation of corresponding plans will enhance the transit attractiveness of international transport corridors passing via the territory of Belarus while helping reduce operating costs and the prime cost of transportation. As far as Osipovichi-Zhlobin section is concerned, its launch has finished the first stage of implementation of the investment project, which envisages gradual electrification until 2015 of three sections: Zhlobin-Osipovichi, Gomel-Zhlobin and Zhlobin-Kalinkovichi.
Mr. Lukashenko also got familiar with beautification and socio-economic development of Zhlobin and Zhlobin District, while visiting newly built facilities in the town.
Moreover, the President attended Dneprovskaya Zhemchuzhina (Dnieper River Pearl) hotel complex, which was constructed in record time — within six months. This became possible due to labour intensification and well-coordinated work of the general contractor, subcontractor organisations and designers. The hotel can accommodate 114, also boasting a cafй, a bowling club, a billiard, a conference hall and a room for business negotiations. The building is a single complex with the Olympic Reserve Centre, located nearby.
The President also answered questions from journalists who were keen to learn his opinion regarding the prospects of development of the Dazhynki Republican Festival.
Mr. Lukashenko believes that this holiday could become a tourist brand of Belarus.
According to the President, today Dazhynki does welcome guests from abroad but their number is small. “Of course, it would be great if we could make the festival so big as to welcome people from all over the world,” added the President.
The Belarusian leader said that visitors always have good impressions about Dazhynki. The President believes that the festival could attract Belarusians living abroad, as well as people of the neighbouring countries, Slavonic states. “In one word, there is a lot to think about. It is worth working in this direction,” summed up the President.
Answering the question about agricultural needs for another qualitative step forward the Head of State noted that this branch should become self-sufficient.
“Meanwhile, the most important problems for the country as a whole and agriculture in particular is to learn how to trade and sell products at a good price,” believes Mr. Lukashenko.
By Vladimir Khromov
Richness of bread field
[b]Speaking at the Republican Dazhynki-2013 Festival of Rural Workers, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced that agrarian branch guarantees the country’s food security while accounting for a huge share of Belarusian exports[/b]As is traditional, this holiday sums up the results of the grain harvesting campaign. Dazhynki is already 17 years old and today the major event of the festival-fair is the honouring of harvest time heroes who get the ‘Belarusian gold’, named bread, with their rough hands, mastery and self-sacrificing labour.