Belarus' food security is in good hands - Lukashenko confers awards to workers of agro-industrial complex

The best workers of the Belarusian agro-industrial complex were commended at the Palace of Independence on the eve of their professional holiday. This year it will be celebrated on Sunday, November 20.

The world can be at the peak of technological progress, but only if people are fed and clothed. These words of the President, addressed to the audience, reflect our reality perfectly well. It is hard to imagine that the threat of hunger in the 21st century has not disappeared from our civilization. Moreover, according to international estimates, millions of people will face it this year alone.

Therefore, our food security becomes all the more valuable. The choice on the shelves of Belarusian stores is growing every year. And this success is entirely the merit of those who have chosen to "work on the land".

In total there were about 600 people in the hall. Some of them came from the remote communities like Gorki, Kobrin, Mozyr, Shchuchin and so on. This is like a continuation of "Dozhonmki", a harvest festival, when everyone knows their heroes from the regional centers to the smallest villages. Some of them already have more than one presidential award.

Belarus is the 6th in the world in dry food production, 10th in oil, and 12th in potatoes. These "dry" numbers in reports turn out very "tasty" on sales counters. There are no products that Belarusians do not make.

Lukashenko:

"First of all, our whole centuries-old history was made by the peasants' labor, including the estates and palaces of the richest families. The development of our home land has always rested on the shoulders of those who cultivated the land, sowed, plowed, reaped and baked bread," Alexander Lukashenko said.

Today, said the President, nothing has changed. "Yes, the world is at the peak of technological, digital progress, and there is no limit to innovative development. But only on one condition: if people are fed and clothed. Every Belarusian understands that the welfare of the state, our food security is in your hands, the hands of machine operators and agronomists, cattle breeders, veterinarians, bakers, cheese-makers, and scientists – everybody is involved in agriculture," stressed the head of state.

Alexander Lukashenko thanked those who help the countryside: engineers, chemists, transport workers, biotechnologists, construction workers, military personnel, members of the Emergencies Ministry and law enforcement agencies.

Alexander Lukashenko

"Thank you very much for your work. First of all, thank you for the record harvest we have gathered this year. We have threshed more than 10.5 million tons of grain. This is almost a million and a half more than last year," said the Belarusian leader.

Everyone who, one way or another, has something to do with this success is in the hall. This year, 78 people have been honored by a decree of the President. This work is difficult. The megapolis needs to be fed. That means working a lot more than eight to five. It's easy only if you love what you do.

Maria Dubrovskaya, vegetable grower at the Minsk Greenhouse Plant, Minsk:

"I think I'm going to cry. I can't express in words, I am overwhelmed with emotion when you are appreciated like this."

And this feeling is shared by many people in the hall, who started in the agro-industrial complex of sovereign Belarus. Now we are talking about exports worth billions of dollars. Nothing of the kind could happen in the '90s.

Lukashenko: "Those who appreciate natural products, safety and taste, choose Belarusian producers. In fact, when the Soviet Union collapsed (some remember it), there was a severe problem of providing daily bread in Minsk, when, as you remember, there was enough flour only for three days. And now, a couple of decades later, over 100 countries buy Belarusian products. The export revenues will reach a record high of over 20 billion rubles this year," said the head of state.

No matter how the sanctions are strangling the domestic producers, we have taken a decent position in the world rankings of food producers.