President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko intends to thoroughly revisit the issue of domestic seeds and varieties at his level upon completion of the harvest campaign. He announced this during a working trip to the Berestovitsky district of the Grodno region, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
The Head of State drew attention to this topic earlier in the week in the Kamenetsky district and has now returned to it. Currently, a large number of foreign seeds are used in the country's agriculture. There are also seeds of domestic varieties, but in some cases, they are inferior to foreign ones in various parameters.
"We need to work with scientists. We need to stir them up," the President said. "When the harvest is over, we need to return to this issue. We will gather at my level and look into it, think about it. We need to shake up the scientists. That's all. We need to look at all this separately. And let them prepare. And not just talk about how heroic they are, but about what is not working."
If everything were fine, Alexander Lukashenko noted, then farms would not be buying imported seeds, especially since they are more expensive than domestic ones.
"Therefore, we need to sort out the seed material. And across all crops," the Belarusian leader emphasized.
"And secondly, besides winter rapeseed and barley, we need to consider what else we can sow earlier, especially in the north. Until we change the crop rotations in the north and find the right crops, they (in the northern regions. - BELTA note) will be struggling. And, of course, discipline and order," the Head of State added.