Lukashenko: Forests and Agriculture Are All Belarus Has Today
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko set clear tasks for the development of the forestry sector while appointing Sergei Uldinovich as the new Minister of Forestry, BELTA reports.
“I very much hope that, knowing this system completely and having taken part in its formation, you will tighten it up properly,” the head of state said. “Start from what you already have. Restructure the system. But there must be order in the forest. Forests and agriculture — that is all we have today.”
Lukashenko noted that industry, for example, operates under a roof in workshops and does not depend on weather conditions.
“Forests and fields, on the other hand, are all under the open sky. Somewhere drought sets in and moisture is scarce — bark beetles start moving through the trees. Somewhere flooding occurs — and farmers have a hard time. Therefore we must pay more attention to this than to other areas. Although our country receives a great deal from industry,” the President remarked.
He pointed out that timber is sometimes not harvested and processed in a timely manner — both planned felling and storm-damaged wood after bad weather.
“It must be cleared on time; we need to mobilize. I know you do not have enough of your own people for this. So submit proposals. And you must have a plan: where, how many and what kind of people to send so that the timber is cleared in time and does not spoil. Everything must be processed,” the Belarusian leader instructed.
The President recalled that he had once been very cautious about proposals to remove all processing from the Forestry Ministry system and transfer it to the Bellesbumprom concern, leaving the ministry only with reforestation and forest control.
“At that time I thought: you probably know better than others what a forest is, where something needs to be cleared, collected or done. And I do not regret the decision today. You do everything now. You build houses and produce various materials for construction. People are employed. Therefore there is no need to take anything away. The system simply needs fine-tuning. You know it well and took part in shaping it,” he stated.
He called for a businesslike approach: all woody raw material unsuitable for furniture or construction materials should be processed into fuel pellets. As an example he cited a new district agro-service project in Shklov that uses a pellet-based heating scheme.
Lukashenko reminded that pellet prices in neighboring Poland have risen several times over.
“They introduced sanctions and do not want to buy these pellets from us. They could have bought them and calmly solved the heating problems of their premises in Poland. They do not want to — fine. Then we must develop this ourselves. How do we differ from Poland? Practically in nothing. The same climate,” the President said. “Moreover, unique boilers have been created in Gomel. There is no need to sit and throw these pellets into the stove. Everything is done automatically.”
Another priority is more active reforestation.
“We very often lag behind. Recently, through the media, we have managed to turn public opinion toward the understanding that nature is a renewable resource, but it must be renewed. If you have cut down a forest, even for sanitary felling, you must plant anew.”
“Everything I have said, you already know. I am saying this for the people, so they understand that these tasks and this work will not go away from you. You will have to deal with them. And discipline. We know how to do everything — Belarus is technologically advanced. But sometimes because of slackness, theft, drinking and other things (as we recently discussed this issue in agriculture), we fall short. I strongly ask you to pay attention to this,” the Belarusian leader concluded.