Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is concerned over negative trends in the dairy industry and inefficient use of new dairy complexes. The Belarusian leader made this statement at the government conference held in Smolevichi District on 27 May to discuss problems in fodder production and animal husbandry. The head of state noted that over the past three years none of the regions fulfilled the targets stipulated by the national dairy industry promotion program. In 2014, the milk yield shrank by over 60kg per cow compared to the same period last year. The short fertile period of cows leads to insufficient reproduction of livestock and reduction in the number of milking cows. “I am also concerned that the new infrastructure of the region (complexes and farms) that cost us trillions of rubles is used inefficiently. It makes no sense to talk about any payoff,” the head of state said. “Despite my instructions, the measures taken by the government, the Agriculture and Food Ministry and the National Academy of Sciences have not generated the desired effect yet,” the President said. Alexander Lukashenko noted that top on the agenda of the session are issues in fodder production. In his words, the materials submitted by the inter-agency working group led by the Premier suggest that failures and flaws in the fodder industry are to blame for the poor performance of the entire animal husbandry. “Poor-quality fodder results in the insufficient amount of meat and milk,” the head of state said. He noted that the decision to hold the visiting session was prompted by the start of the fodder production season and the overall situation in animal husbandry. The President emphasized the importance of this industry for the Belarusian economy. Indeed, animal husbandry generates over 75% of revenues of agricultural companies and accounts for nearly 66% (almost $4 billion in 2013) of agricultural exports. Fodder, in turn, accounts for more than 57% of the cost of animal products. “Our objective is to provide animal husbandry with high-quality, balanced and inexpensive fodder and to get a bigger economic effect. This way we will be able to earn additional funds that our agriculture needs so badly. According to the Agriculture and Food Ministry, if the useful effect of the fodder had been as big as it was supposed to, we could have earned over Br6 trillion additionally. If we had exported products made from this milk, we could have earned an additional $1.5 billion. These are our losses,” the President said. He stated that fodder production is not given due attention on the national and regional levels. “Unfortunately, the lack of teamwork and the conflicting decisions of the governors, specialists of the Agriculture and Food Ministry and scientists had a negative impact on this sector. Therefore, the task is the following: the Agriculture and Food Ministry should come up with concrete targets for each region, district and company. This task should be fulfilled by all means,” the President said.
Written by belta.by
