On October 4, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The Vitebsk region's agricultural producers intend to complete the potato harvest by October 10, Ivan Fyodorov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. As of October 4, the Vitebsk region leads the country in potato harvesting among all regions: 3.7 thousand hectares, or 75.9% of the area under this crop, have been harvested here. The Grodno region is in second place with 73.4% of the area. In total, the region's rural workers have harvested almost 79 thousand tons of potatoes with an average yield of 212.6 centners per hectare. Part of the root crops is already being supplied to the stabilization fund to meet the population's needs during the off-season, and 12.3 thousand tons of tubers have been stored in the seed fund for next year's harvest. The highest potato yields were recorded in the Tolochin (421.3 centners/ha), Shumilino (301.2 centners/ha), and Polotsk (281 centners/ha) districts. Agricultural producers in the Verkhnedvinsk, Vitebsk, and Gorodok districts are harvesting more than 200 centners per hectare. This year's potato harvest has been poor for the rural workers of the Dokshitsy district, where they are harvesting 90.7 centners per hectare. Currently, employees of agricultural organizations are making every effort to complete the potato harvest as soon as possible. "With good weather, we have every chance to cope with this task by October 10," noted Ivan Fyodorov. Vegetables in the region have been harvested from 69.8% of the areas with an average yield of 85.6 centners per hectare. Thus, 30 hectares of cabbage have been harvested (666.3 tons collected), 160.5 hectares of beetroot (2.4 thousand tons respectively), and 157.4 hectares of carrots (3.4 thousand tons). -0-

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