Karaev: Grodno region once again proved that it is the flagship of the agricultural industry of the country

This year, the agrarians of the Grodno region, showing high discipline, hard work, organization, withstanding the technological level as much as possible, have made a significant contribution to the republican loaf, growing a decent harvest of grain and leguminous crops. The result of the total work of 17 districts of the region is more than 1 million 480 thousand tons of grain and legumes in bunker weight.

Today, on September 26, the regional festival-fair of workers of the village "Dazhynki-2026" is held in Korelichi. On the eve of the holiday, her own correspondent of “Rural newspaper” interviewed the chairman of the Grodno regional executive committee Yuri Karaev.

— Yuri Khadzhimuratovich, Grodno region remains among the leaders in the yield of grain and leguminous crops. At the same time, our farmers have significantly increased both in shaft and in the yield of rapeseed. How do you manage to keep the bar?

- Yes, indeed, our region traditionally receives the highest yield of grain, rapeseed, sugar beet. To constantly keep the bar of the leader, you need to keep your finger on the pulse at all levels - from the leadership of the regional and district executive committees to those workers who directly grow and harvest crops with their own hands. This season, as always, a lot of labor and material resources have been invested in the production of crop production. The basis of the future harvest was laid in the autumn of 2025.

In optimal time and at a high agrotechnical level, sowing and the whole range of works on plant care were carried out. In addition, scientists provide significant assistance to specialists in the field in the development and practical development of intensive technologies in agriculture, the introduction of new regionalized and promising varieties of crops, in the training and retraining of qualified personnel. It is also necessary to note the renewal of the park of agricultural machinery, which, among other things, contributes to improving the culture of agriculture. Agricultural and other equipment with crews were sent to the farms, as well as mechanics, drivers, welders and other specialists were sent. If necessary, the inter-farm transfer of harvesters was carried out.

- What was the result of coordinated and prompt work?

- The agricultural organizations of the region threshed over 1 million 480 thousand tons of grain and legumes in bunker weight, which is 2 percent less than last year. The average yield was 49.9 centners per hectare – and this is the best result among all regions of the republic. The most productive grain crops in 2026 were winter barley, which showed 59.8 centners per hectare, winter wheat - 53.1 centners per hectare, the area of which in the structure of the winter wedge is 67 percent. If last year, despite the problematic weather conditions, winter rape was removed from 73 thousand hectares and received 30 centners per hectare, then this obtained 326,000 tons of oil seeds with an average yield of 43.3 centners per hectare, which is also the best result in the country.

In a number of districts and agricultural organizations received decent, and in some areas record threshing and yield of rapeseed and grain. So, in Grodno district almost 48 thousand tons of rapeseed were threshed, in Shchuchinsky - 29 thousand, Volkovysk - 24 thousand, Voronov, Zelvensky, Lida and Mostovsk - more than 20 thousand tons. The yield of winter rapeseed in Grodno district is 56.4 centners per hectare, in Berestovitsky - 52.7, in Shchuchinsky and Zelvensky districts - almost 50.

In the Grodno district with the threshing of 207 thousand tons of grain, the average yield was 76.3 centners per hectare, in the Korelichsky and Shchuchinsky districts - more than 60 centners per hectare. In two farms of the region, more than 100 centners of grain were received per hectare: in KSUE "Korelichy Plemzavod" of the Korelichsky district - 110.7 centners per hectare, Progress-Vertelishki SEC of the Grodno district - 109.6 centners per hectare. The leader in the gross harvest of grain and rapeseed is Grodno district, where more than 255 thousand tons of new harvest were received. There are also seven hundred thousand districts in the region. In total, grains of grain and rapeseed received more than 1 million 840 thousand tons, which is 80 thousand tons, or 5 percent more than last year. Is the structure of the planted areas changing?

- Against the background of the constant rise in the cost of TMZ, the level of prevailing grain prices is a problematic issue. One of the measures taken to increase production efficiency is to expand, taking into account the possibilities of crop rotation, high-margin crops with a slight decrease in grain crops. The region steadily continues to increase the area of cultivation and the level of production of winter rapeseed as one of the key crops in the agro-industrial complex of the region. It still remains a culture that gives farms a sustainable income, and the region - export revenue. In addition, it provides the production of high-quality vegetable oil, which is in demand both on the domestic and foreign markets, as well as valuable protein feed for livestock. We will continue to develop this area, strengthening the position of the Grodno region as one of the leaders in the production of rapeseed in Belarus. So, the crops of winter rapeseed for the harvest of 2027 are located on 84 thousand hectares, and this is plus 7.5 thousand hectares.

- The plant industry is not only grain, but also fruits and vegetables. What is the situation in the production of socially important food, what is the harvest this year?

- To provide the population with a "borscht set" in 2026 in agricultural organizations and large peasant (farm) farms, 2.6 thousand hectares are occupied under potatoes, a thousand hectares are under vegetables, the harvesting area has developed at the level of last year. Currently, the pace of harvesting potatoes and vegetables is gaining momentum. There is a massive cleaning of beets of dining and onions. Also in the Grodno region there are more than 4.5 thousand hectares of fruit and berry plantations, of which in fertile age - 3,500 hectares. During harvesting, the yield of apples will increase, since winter varieties are more productive. It is planned to receive at least 25 tons per hectare on average in the region. The largest gross harvest of apples from farms of the Grodno district is 28 - 30 thousand tons, followed by Shchuchinsky, Volkovysk and Berestovitsky districts. It is expected that in the region (including peasant (farm) farms, agricultural and other organizations), the gross production of potatoes will be at the level of 120 thousand tons, vegetables - 54 thousand tons. The expected production will be enough to form stabilization funds of potatoes and fruits and vegetables for the upcoming off-season.

- The region traditionally demonstrates steady growth in terms of digitalization of technological processes, the introduction of elements of precision farming. How does this help to achieve sustainable results for individual advanced farms and what prevents innovation everywhere?

- First of all, we need to understand why this is necessary. Our agricultural products must be competitive. The economy in crop production can be increased due to strict compliance with optimal standards of mineral fertilizers, plant protection products, lime materials. This gives us a precision farming system. Of course, there are still issues that need to be resolved, starting with training: there should be a staff from specialists to mechanics who can work with this software product. Qualification is primary. In second place is technical equipment. Not all organizations today can afford such a software product. But we'll get there. Ten years will pass, and I am sure that the entire Grodno region will be digitized and precision agriculture will develop here. That's the future. At present, technologies for cultivating crops using elements of the precision farming system are being actively introduced in the region. So, in 2026, with the use of precision agriculture, agricultural organizations of the region sowed grain crops on 183 thousand hectares, introduced mineral fertilizers on an area of 122 thousand hectares, chemical treatment was carried out on 167 thousand hectares. In the region immediately after harvesting, sowing began - the pledge of the future harvest. Do the villagers have everything they need to successfully complete the next sowing campaign?

- Yes, our villagers have no time to rest. But I must correct you that the sowing did not begin after the harvest - at the same time we sowed winter rapeseed, which in our region had to be sown before the end of August. Now we are actively sowing winter crops (wheat, barley, triticale and rye). Our agricultural organizations are provided with seeds, with the help of regional agricultural machinery and district agroservices, the right amount of mineral fertilizers was purchased. There are all means of plant protection: herbicides, herbicides, growth regulators. Soil processing, sowing and other equipment has been prepared and operates, there are no problems with providing fuel. The task has been set, and it is quite feasible: to complete the sowing of winter crops in the optimal time frame established by our scientists, that is, until October 5.

- How has the new super combine "Polesie GS2124" proved itself in Grodno fields? How actively does domestic equipment appear among farmers and do manufacturers cope with increasing demand?

Grain harvester GS2124 produced by OJSC Gomselmash is a high-performance flagship machine. In the agricultural organizations of the Grodno region there are 122 units of harvesters GS2124, this year purchased 13 units. In 2026, the average threshing per grain harvester GS2124 amounted to more than 2 thousand tons, ten harvesters threshed more than 3 thousand tons, one harvester - more than 4 thousand tons. This bar was overcome in the Chernyakhovsky-Agro KUSP of the Korelichsky district (4,103 tons). In general, in the region, much attention is paid to updating the machine and tractor fleet with high-performance equipment. In the first half of 2026, more than 630 units of agricultural machinery and equipment were received by agricultural organizations of the Grodno region.

In the agricultural organizations of the Grodno region is on the balance of 70 units of warranty grain harvesters GS2124 produced by JSC Gomselmash, and the company is doing some work to improve the quality of equipment. However, during the eight months of this year, the manufacturer caused 62 failures.

What are the prospects for the development of agriculture in the region, what areas will be priorities in the next five years?

Prospects for the development of the agro-industrial complex of the Grodno region for the next five-year plan are determined by the State Program “Agro-industrial complex of the future” for 2026-2030. Our goal is to improve high-performance agro-industrial complex, and Grodno region intends to maintain its leading position in the main types of agricultural products. If we talk in numbers, by 2030 in all categories of grain farms in the region it is planned to produce 1975 thousand tons. For rapeseed – to keep production at the level of at least 300 thousand tons, sugar beet – at least 1610 thousand tons annually. Production of potatoes is planned to increase to 500 thousand tons, vegetables - up to 430 thousand tons, fruits and berries - up to 130 thousand tons. The share of the Grodno region in the republican production for grain will be about 20 percent, for rapeseed - almost 25 percent, for sugar beets - more than 32 percent.

As for priority areas, there are several. The first is crop production. We will improve the structure of sown areas in accordance with economic changes and emerging weather and climatic conditions, continue work to preserve and increase soil fertility. In parallel, we are strengthening and continuing to develop beet sugar production, linen industry, greenhouse vegetable growing and import-substituting production of fruit and berry products. The second is digitalization. Creation of a republican digital platform for precision farming, introduction of domestic digital technologies in production and management processes, smart agriculture and livestock breeding. Our region is already showing steady growth in this direction, and in the next five years this process should become widespread. The third is human resources. Training of qualified specialists with new knowledge and innovative technologies in the field of production, storage, marketing of food.

Grodno region has everything necessary to perform the tasks: production potential, qualified personnel and developed technologies. The experience of this year, when we received a record rapeseed harvest and the best in the country in terms of grain yields, confirms that the chosen strategy works.

- Thank you, Yuri Khadzhimuratovich, for an interesting and meaningful conversation. You and all the farmers of Grodno region!

vrublevskaya@sb.by