Belarus will need at estimated Br13.8 trillion for its spring sowing campaign in 2013, Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats said at the meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers held on 26 February to discuss the readiness of national agricultural companies for the 2013 spring sowing campaign.

Nearly Br7.3 trillion will be used to acquire mineral fertilizers, Br2.6 trillion – motor fuels, Br1.8 trillion – crop-protecting agents, Br1.2 trillion – seeds. A total of Br0.9 trillion will be needed for acquisition of component parts and maintenance works on the equipment.

This year the country is set to harvest 10.9 million tonnes of grain, 7.6 million tonnes of potato, 4.5 million tonnes of sugar beet, 2.2 million tonnes of vegetables, 180,000 rotted straw. The reach the target the Agricuture and Food Ministry teamed up with the National Academy of Sciences to work out an optimal structure of the acreage. The area under crops will exceed 2.5 million hectares. Of them 1.2 million hectares will be used to sow grain and leguminous crops. The main seed banks of grain and leguminous crops, potato, flax and permanent grasses have been developed

Agricultural companies of the country have a total of 45,700 tractors for spring field works. The existing vehicle stock enables to conduct the sowing campaign within 7-12 days given two-shift operation and favorable weather conditions.

For this spring sowing campaign the country will need 193,500 tonnes of diesel fuel, 26,000 tonnes of petrol and over 8,000 tonnes of motor fuels. The Agriculture and Food Ministry has worked out together with Belneftekhim Concern a schedule of oil logistics for agricultural companies.

Belarus Prime Minister instructed the ministry to secure the country’s readiness for sowing campaign. “The issues related to spring sowing campaign are highly relevant. We should get fully prepared for spring field works,” he noted. The head of government also focused on the issues of fodder production. “Our livestock industry requires an absolutely different approach to secure well-balanced diets for animals in order to get the most out of the national fodder production and livestock industry in general. It is one of the main areas of our export policy,” he said.

Belta