Regions of Belarus with unfavourable conditions for agricultural production may be eligible for increased state support.

Regions of Belarus unfavorable for agricultural production may be eligible for increased state support, BELTA was informed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

As explained by the Ministry, currently, the agricultural organizations of the republic objectively operate under different economic conditions, which are related to natural-climatic, soil, environmental, and socio-economic indicators. All these factors prevent farms from ensuring equal profitability from their activities.

"The Government has made a decision that defines the criteria affecting the profitability of agricultural producers, depending on the region where agricultural production is organized. Therefore, those regions where conducting agricultural production is more costly (poor soils, shorter growing season, severe frosts without snow cover in winter, spring frosts, floods and droughts in summer, etc.) may be eligible for increased state support. This is done to equalize operating conditions and profitability," the Ministry noted, adding that this is a generally accepted international practice.

In accordance with the agreement on agriculture adopted in the EAEU and based on WTO principles, an unfavorable region must be a clearly defined geographical area, have certain economic and administrative characteristics, and be considered unfavorable based on neutral and objective criteria, clearly set out in law or a regulatory act, indicating that the region's difficulties are caused by more serious reasons than mere temporary circumstances.

In this regard, the Government of Belarus adopted Resolution No. 1277 of December 31, 2014, which approved the list of districts (regions) considered unfavorable for agricultural production. It includes 62 districts. In particular, from the Minsk region, these are Berezinsky, Volozhinsky, Krupky, Logoysky, Myadelsky, and Starodorozhsky districts. In the Grodno region, Dyatlovsky, Ivye, and Svisloch districts are recognized as unfavorable for agricultural production. In the Brest region - Gantsevichi, Drogichin, Ivanovo, Luninets, Malorita, Pinsk, and Stolin districts. The largest number of districts in the approved list are from the Vitebsk and Gomel regions (18 each), as well as the Mogilev region (10).

"This gradation is necessary for assessing the efficiency of agricultural production in various regions and for forming the principles of distribution and provision of state support to entities of the agro-industrial complex," the Ministry of Agriculture and Food noted. Such a support mechanism will ensure the viability of rural territories by maintaining the employment level of the population both in the agricultural sector and in related industries, as well as preserving agricultural landscapes.

News of Belarus (BELTA)