Lukashenko criticised Government for slow pace of land reclamation work
Belarus’ President criticised the Government for slow paces of land reclamation at today’s Republican seminar-meeting on restoration and use of reclaimed lands – referring to the information of the State Control Committee and the Government
“I will tell you openly: it arouses concern. Just look at the key points. In the beginning of the current five-year period, there were 412,000 hectares of previously reclaimed land in the country; they are in a deplorable state. Speaking simply, due to mismanagement, they have turned into ditches and swamps overgrown with bushes. Actually, we are also to blame for this, since we did not pay attention to the issue. In 2021, only 27,500 hectares were returned to agricultural turnover,” Aleksandr Lukashenko told those present.
The Head of State noted that all the necessary decisions had been taken, while the Government and regional executive committees had been tasked to increase the pace of work in 2022 two- or even three-fold.
“The procedure for conducting reclamation work has been simplified, and an additional Br66m has been allocated from the Republican budget for basic work in this very difficult time. Another Br15m has been provided to purchase domestic reclamation machinery and equipment. The Government assured that the measures taken would allow almost 55,000 hectares of land to be returned to agriculture in 2022, but what have we got? By November 1st, this figure made only 31,000, and less than two months are left until the end of the year. Openly speaking, I am alarmed by this attitude,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
The Head of State warned that the cost of all work – whether it is digging new channels, cleaning old ones or laying drainage – should be timed and calculated. “God forbid, you will steal at least one penny somewhere. It is not good that we are trying to find money, while this is being treated recklessly somewhere. Therefore, there will be the strictest control. Stop wasting money – burying it, as people used to say. The same could be said about technology. Everything will be calculated – including expenses and prime cost. There is no extra money, so the whole of the country will have to make efforts and contribution. Just imagine: half a million hectares! If we had them now, in addition to animal husbandry, we would be talking not about $8bn [earned as a result of agricultural exports] but rather $15bn,” the President stated.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, in this case, the enterprises – in particular, the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation, would not think of where to get grain.
