Expanding farmland: how Belarus restores land productivity

Uncompromising fight against wood and shrubbery vegetation, active work with empty houses and bringing in proper form of agricultural facilities – how is the order of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to restore order on the ground being fulfilled? What is the culture of labor and why is an ordinary mechdvor a mirror of the entire agro-industrial complex? Details about this were told in the program “At the control of the President”, released on Thursday, October 1, in the evening broadcast of the TV channel “Belarus 1”.

Instead of dull buildings - beautiful farmland Strict control over the improvement and restoration of order on the ground provides the necessary conditions for work. But is it always possible to preserve old buildings? Especially when it comes to a deserted farm. Sometimes it’s better to tear down an old house than to watch it fall apart every year. And how often will you watch it? According to the head of the land management department of the Shchuchinsky district executive committee Alla Kovaleva, in the Shchuchinsky district, work is purposefully underway to restore order on the ground:

- In 2023, 81 houses were demolished, 13 hectares of land were introduced into agricultural turnover. In 2024, 102 houses were demolished, 23 hectares of land were put into circulation, in 2025 - 110 houses and 30 hectares of land were introduced. Money is allocated from the budget. This year, 380 thousand rubles were allocated, the money is being used in full. Agricultural companies also support this issue.

The Old Town was once a lively village. In each yard there is a large household and everyday troubles. They say that the famous Belarusian poet Aloisa Pashkevich, known under the pseudonym Tetka, lived in the neighboring village for some time, one of the key figures of the Belarusian national revival of the early XX century. Today, these lands have another revival. The village turned into a small farm, where mostly summer residents come. Ownless houses decided to demolish, and in the plots to breathe new life. If the land is adjacent to the fields, it is logical that it is given to the local agricultural enterprise. Experts themselves decide whether to use it for arable land, hay or grazing livestock. The main thing is that the territory is not overgrown with bushes and has a well-groomed appearance. At the site of the demolished village of Shermichi, the first harvest will be harvested. Director of JSC "Vasilishki" Anton Burnos 1.86 meters tall literally lost in corn plantations - so confidently the queen of fields took the territory.

- Nature takes its course. After all the treatments, fertilizer application, manure, the land returns to its fertile layer and shows itself well. In the second or third year after demolition is no different in fertility. As a rule, villages were built on fertile lands, people chose decent land. Restoring order on the ground – under the strict control of the President – is the fight against wood and shrub vegetation, and work with empty houses in the village, and bringing agricultural facilities into normal form. During a recent working trip to Shklovsky district, the Head of State harshly criticized the local authorities for mismanagement and low culture of agriculture. The president demands the elementary: to treat the land and resources in a manner that depends on the well-being of each of us. If at least one meter remains unploughed (you have whole fields empty here), you will not work. I'm telling you this publicly. Not one or the other. The culture of agriculture should be the highest. You're terrified. If that had been the case in Soviet times, you would have been handcuffed and put in jail. Everything should be plowed before “I can’t”, the Head of State drew attention on September 18, 2026 during a working trip to Shklovsky district. The real digital eye of the state was the GIS geoportal. It leaves no chance of mismanagement: any overgrown plot, arbitrarily moved fence or abandoned house is visible on electronic maps as in the palm of your hand. This allows specialists to act point by point, returning hundreds of hectares of land to active economic turnover. Thus, the attention of the controllers attracted one of the sections of the Grodno district. Near the village Pyry used to be a pig-breeding complex. In 2019, it was closed and demolished, but bricks, stones, slate sheets remained. The area around began to overgrown with grass. By the arrival of the film crew, the picture became better: construction debris was taken to one place, the grass was mowed down. Even installed a sign "Platform for temporary storage of building materials." Roman Kachan, Deputy Head of the State Property Control and Land Use Department of the State Control Committee of the Grodno Region, draws attention to the fact that the KGC informed the Grodno Regional Executive Committee and the Committee of Natural Resources on this issue:

- Response measures were taken and order was restored. We need discipline and a culture of work As the theater begins with a hanger, so the economy - with a mechdvor. In Novobelskoye-Agro, it is better not to go further than the gate: the canopy under which the equipment is stored is damaged. The roof of the repair shop is also leaking. Chairman of the Krichev Interdistrict Committee of State Control Sergey Vlasenko draws attention to the fact that the economy also has a lack of funds for capital repairs:

- But for an elementary order, you need the demands of the middle level, the head of the enterprise. We regularly monitor agricultural facilities, and if shortcomings are identified, local authorities are promptly informed, then control visits.

There is no water supply in the farm – it was turned off due to debts. Heating? Unacceptable luxury. Mechanizers are modest people: a minute warmed up in the control room, and you can change clothes in the tractor. The future harvest is laid just in the off-season. If the repair shops are in order, there are necessary spare parts and tools, the equipment will enter the field on time and will not break at the most critical moment. But this is clearly not the case..

- People are still there, trying, working. But the workshops were built in 1976, repairs were not carried out here. The building requires repair, there is no water supply, and repair of household premises is needed so that in winter workers can feel confident and comfortable, says Vladimir Novikov, Head of the Mehdvor of Novobelskoye-Agro.

Agrarians are the people of the earth. They spend most of their time in the field, but they also need normal conditions. Especially before winter. This is well understood in the Malatichi-Agro farm. For employees, there is not just a household room, but a “house of the mechanizer”. It has a occupational safety class, a rest room and a room where you can change clothes and eat. According to the chief engineer of KSUE "Malyatichi-Agro" Vladimir Ilyenkov, discipline is the key to labor protection.

- If you know what you are doing, you can avoid injury. If he calmly came, changed clothes, ate, then he does the work with a completely different approach, and if he lies on the ground, repairs, then what can be demanded from him, the chief engineer notes. On a clean and illuminated mehdvor, it is easier to control fuel consumption, the availability of spare parts and eliminate theft or misuse of resources. Whitewashed walls of farms and sloping roadsides are not just beauty, but the face of the economy and the key to the success of the entire agro-industrial complex. MTF “Mikhedovichi” Brigadier Anatoly Rodionov has been in agriculture for more than 40 years. Once his native "Mikhedovichi" were in the forefront, the farm employed more than 100 workers. Today, only three people are responsible for the farm.

- I am retired, but I had to work at the request of the management. There is a reorganization of the economy, the further fate is unknown, notes Anatoly Fedorovich. We started to join, unite, pay more attention to the centers, and we are on the sidelines. Due to lack of funds, labor discipline, responsible people, everything comes to this state.

The complex is gradually failing. Gates and windows need repair. The walls and roof are leaking, rainfall is falling inside. At the same time, there are animals in the barns - about 300 heifers. This is not just a “young man”, but the foundation of the future dairy herd. This object, the specialists of the KGC took special control - by winter there should not be a single Burenka. With the accommodation of animals ready to help in the neighboring complex.

The territory is clean, the paths are sloping, the equipment is in line. These little things make up discipline. If there is scrap metal everywhere, roofs flow, and equipment is “where it came from”, it is safe to say that the same chaos reigns in the fields and on farms. The culture of work is what remains. Even when the check-up left and the TV camera turned off.

celyuk@sb.by