Lukashenko: Agriculture and forest lands are our huge resource, which we must utilize

The forestry sector is the second most important sector for Belarus after agriculture. This was stated on April 26 by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, during a visit to the Kozyrskoye forestry of the Logoysk forest enterprise as part of a working trip to the Minsk region, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian leader.

The President emphasized the importance of having such a forest resource in Belarus. "Agriculture and forest lands are our huge resource, which we must use. Finland built its economy on this," noted Alexander Lukashenko.

"The forest is our resource. Let's rely on this resource and do something. Are there any problems in the countryside today? No. We have sown, and no one even noticed. We harvest in the same way," said the head of state.

He stressed that the Minister of Forestry has been granted all the necessary powers. "What are the problems with the forest today? You have all the equipment you asked for. People are working," the President pointed out. "All that is needed is to establish order in the forest. Full authority has been transferred to him. The forest is yours. It doesn't matter whether it's private land or hunting grounds."

The President was informed about the progress of logging operations at the Logoysk forest enterprise and the equipment used for this purpose.

The head of state raised the issue of using special equipment in forestries affected by radioactive contamination. As reported by the Minister of Forestry, Mikhail Amelyanovich, this equipment is present in all forestries of the Gomel and Mogilev regions, it is available in all 47 contaminated forestries. He also noted that in these areas, only 2% of the timber is contaminated, while the rest is suitable for use.

In total, there are 97 forest enterprises in Belarus. The Minister confirmed that the country has sufficient forest resources to provide producers with the necessary volume of timber. Mikhail Amelyanovich noted that there were previously disputes about what to use for logging: chainsaws or manipulator equipment. As a result, the latter option was chosen, which proved to be correct, as it increased the efficiency of logging operations.

The Minister of Forestry reported to the Head of State that the main causes of forest fires are currently the burning of dry grass and transboundary fires that spread to Belarusian territory from other countries. "There were a lot of fires this year from Russia and Ukraine," the minister specified.

In addition, the President of Belarus was informed about the use of a technical innovation, such as special cameras, which are used in forests to record violations, for example, illegal waste disposal. In some regions of Belarus, this technical innovation has already proven its effectiveness.

Alexander Lukashenko drew attention to the need to plant forest belts along roads, as was done previously.

"Pine trees should be planted on all high slopes, and let them grow along the road. This is still an economy. There is no need to maintain this strip. Otherwise, weeds grow, and you have to mow them twice a year, whether you want to or not," said the President of Belarus. The Head of State recalled that such forest belts were previously planted along roads, but some of them were later cut down.

The issue of processing forest production waste was also touched upon.

"You say there is nowhere to put wood chips. Let's decide what we will do with the wood chips, since the market has slumped. We must do this as quickly as possible. We will assign each governor the number of boilers he must build, where he will build these boilers, to burn 1.5 million cubic meters of wood chips. This is the only drawback that we must resolve. It is unacceptable that we are ruining good resources," said the President.

Alexander Lukashenko considers it necessary to work out the optimal option for supplying agro-town boiler houses with local fuel. "Work it out and show me the optimal option for us – how to supply an agro-town with local fuel year-round, what kind of boiler is needed," said the President.

The Head of State also noted that a decision must be made no later than the end of this year. "If it is done in August – that's even better. Or in September, we'll see," added Alexander Lukashenko.

News of Belarus (BELTA)