Lukashenko: land reclamation is key link of agriculture
The Republican seminar-meeting on restoration and use of reclaimed land – held today with participation of the President on the basis of Amkodor-KEZ JSC in Kokhanovo, Tolochin District – aimed to set priorities in land reclamation, and also to outline the strategy and tactics of this work
Opening the plenary session, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that, by and large, the culture of arable farming is in focus. “The topic on the agenda is not new, but it is very important for agriculture. The issue is broader now: it involves not only land reclamation, but also the culture of arable farming. Of course, land reclamation is the key link and, in a couple of years, we should implement the previously outlined plans. We did not fulfill them, and we have not been fulfilling them this year, but I have received assurances from the Government that this year’s reclamation plans will be met.”
The Head of State drew attention to two more main problems concerning the culture of arable farming. One of them deals with introduction of old, abandoned homestead plots into crop rotation.
“Villages are becoming different, and there will be no old villages. In 10-15 years or even earlier, there will be only agro-towns. People want to live comfortably, in good houses. We will not be able to ensure this in every village and farm, and we decided to build agro-towns – so that they have the same standard of living as in cities. Villages are getting old, and homesteads are being abandoned. These plots need to be put in order, and we should also think of what to cultivate there. In addition to land reclamation, we need to introduce all these abandoned plots into crop rotation. As a result, 100-150,000 tonnes of grain could be grown there,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said, adding that this should be done during the next sowing season.
Another direction, which – as the Head of State said – is simply ‘crying out and catching the eye’, is the uprooting of old farms, “It is necessary to cultivate agricultural crops there. You have two years to do this. As regards uprooting of old houses, dairy farms, facilities for grain grinding… These are many thousands of hectares that we should introduce into crop rotation. This is a task of agricultural enterprises, but they will not cope on their own. Therefore, the governors should develop plans, get rid of these old facilities and introduce these hectares [into crop rotation].”
