President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, during his visit to the St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in the agro-town of Yevdokimovichi (Shklov District) on Easter Sunday, directed farmers to complete the sowing campaign as soon as possible and to harvest not less grain than in 2025. In his talk with SB TV and Alfa Radio, the Director General of Stolichnoye TV JSC, Aleksandr Osenko, explained why the Head of State keeps such close control over the issues of the agro-industrial complex.
As noted by the expert, the President has repeatedly said that food security is the most important point. “Firstly, it is a pillar on which our state rests. It is the peace of mind of the Belarusian people who have enough food to satisfy their needs. Secondly, it generates income due to exports, and this is also very important. In 2025, Belarus’ budget generated about $10bn thanks to exports of food and agricultural products,” he said.
According to Mr. Osenko, the President's attentive attitude to food security issues is one of the objectives of the country’s socio-economic development programme for 2026-2030, which was approved at the 7th Belarusian People’s Congress. “Food security is a key pillar on which our state stands. The Grodno Region, as always, is in the lead, and the Brest Region is coming next. It is clear that the Minsk and Vitebsk regions started sowing a little later, but farming is risky there for objective reasons — climatic conditions. Nevertheless, the harvest was good there in 2025. This year, the President has already set a task, and, as farmers say, it will be achieved,” he noted.
In 2025, more than 11 million tonnes of grain were harvested, along with rapeseed and corn. Meanwhile, in 1994, grain production was in a deep crisis. As noted by Mr. Osenko, Belarus has much progressed, “First of all, all this became possible thanks to the determination of our President and his foresight. He was born in the village and knows perfectly well how grain is grown. The strategy aimed at ensuring that Belarusians live well was laid down by him back in 1994.”
The expert recalled that there was an acute shortage of food in stores in the 1990s, “The Head of State then focused the country on investing money and technology in agriculture. As a result, we have reached high-tech, evolving agriculture. There are all sorts of meat and milk products in the country now, and this is due to the purposeful policy of our President who understood perfectly well: it is possible not only to feed the people, but also to make money on these products.”
