According to the results of the agricultural season of 2024, Belarusian farmers received record-high gross yields of winter barley, maize and rapeseed, Ivan Kaskevich, Head of the Plant Production Department of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry told BelTA.
Last year the national agro-industrial complex achieved a record gross harvest of winter barley – 721,000 tonnes. The crop of grain maize exceeded two million tonnes for the first time. The gross yield of rapeseed for the first time exceeded one million tonnes.
According to the representative of the Agriculture and Food Ministry, all the records are the result of systematic work of a huge team of agricultural workers, including ministerial officials. In the case of maize, for example, impressive yields were achieved thanks to the country’s maize processing plants, strict adherence to cultivation technology and advanced machinery. Personnel is always the key to success, Ivan Kaskevich added.
“We regularly hold seminars, workshops with the participation of specialists from the National Academy of Sciences and train specialists to use new technology,” Ivan Kaskevich emphasized. “New dairy complexes are built. The number of livestock increases, the demand for fodder is on the rise, and, accordingly, the requirements to farmers who have to provide the livestock with fodder become more demanding.”
As for winter barley, the head of the plant production department stressed that the areas under this crop were increased at the suggestion of the head of state. In fact, the country does not need a huge amount of winter barley. The crop is considered as a transitional period from one harvest to another. Moreover, the cultivation of this crop helps farmers enter harvesting earlier, prepare machinery for operation in the fields, and to start preparing the soil for other crops.
“We are often told that we have no oil or natural gas, but at the same time we produce big quantities of food, which in terms of dairy products per capita is enough for three and a half territories as Belarus. The head of state has set the task to increase grain production and we are going to fulfill it. Resources are being sought for these tasks, material and raw material base is being prepared,” the representative of the ministry added. “The Year of Improvement we intend to improve the efficiency of land use. I am sure that the result will not keep us waiting.”
