The first zonal agricultural conference in 2024 was held in Bashkortostan

The 2024 field season will be difficult, as noted in many regions of the country. Therefore, it is necessary to be very scrupulous in the preparation and conduct of spring field work, noted the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Belarus -Minister of Agriculture Ilshat Fazrakhmanov, opening a zonal agronomic conference in the Sterlitamak region of the republic on March 20. At the event with the participation of representatives of 17 districts of the Pre-Ural steppe zone, tactics and strategy for the upcoming sowing campaign were discussed.
“There is enough snow on the fields, so there should be a lot of moisture in the soil if the air temperature is favorable, without sudden changes,” he said, voicing the positive aspects of the current season. - Seeds of grain and leguminous crops were prepared in full, more than 285 thousand tons. Supplies of seeds of industrial crops are still delayed; their supply is 50-60%. It was not without reason that we warned that sunflower, corn and SUGAR beet seeds should be stocked in advance. At the same time, we expect an increase in the area of ​​oilseeds, since they are more profitable than grain crops.”
Regarding the structure of sown areas in Bashkortostan in 2024, the HEAD of the regional agricultural department and his deputy Irik Surakov noted that it will remain traditional. Of the 2 million 880 thousand hectares of cultivated area in the republic, 1 million 760 thousand hectares will be allocated for grain and leguminous crops. The remaining areas will be occupied by industrial and fodder crops, potatoes.
The cost of spring field work will increase significantly, up to 24-25 billion rubles. Traditionally, farmers will borrow about 60℅ of this amount from banks, noted First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Belarus Ramil Nuriakhmetov. It is gratifying that these will mainly be preferential short-term loans. Farmers in the region received about 5 billion rubles of preferential loans (which are usually used for the upcoming sowing season) at the end of 2023, and about another 5.5 billion rubles - already in 2024. Thus, the total amount of preferential loans for sowing has already amounted to 10.5 billion rubles.
In conclusion, Ilshat Fazrakhmanov announced the main tasks in crop production for 2024. This is the introduction of about 33 thousand hectares of arable land into crop rotation, the modernization of reclamation systems, the development of selection and seed production. Among the strategic tasks in the industry, he highlighted the construction and launch of 30 new industrial dairy farms and 300 new or modernized poultry farms by 2030. This will allow increasing the production of commercial MILK to 1 million tons and above, and MEAT production to 550 thousand tons.