OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2009. Oblasts of Belarus are insufficiently active in preparing for the harvesting campaign, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky told a session of the Council of Ministers Presidium, reported the Official website government.by.

“The resources that the government has allocated are sufficient to promptly gather in the harvest but the oblasts demonstrate a lack of efforts in this area,” said Sergei Sidorsky.

This year the harvesting campaign will have to be completed within a tight schedule. Around 13,000 combine harvesters will be used to make that happen. The Prime Minister demanded that all the machines should be delivered to agricultural companies on time. “The matter has to be settled within a month. 1 August is the deadline,” he said.

Sergei Sidorsky pointed out that agricultural companies have to buy out not only agricultural machines on time but also spare parts for them. “If you make an order, have had machines and spare parts made for you, take them away and get down to work,” the Prime Minister told oblast governors.

It is necessary to accelerate the preparation of grain-drying installations for the new harvest. “Any disruptions in this area are unacceptable. Apart from that, the oblasts should accomplish the planned switch of grain dryers to local fuels,” said the Premier.

Sergei Sidorsky also asked farmers and the governors to work out a strategy for grain crushing for this year. “Gather up and make the decision on what strategy it will be. If someone’s grain is flooded and wasted, it needs to be crushed,” said the head of government.

Speaking about the availability of fuel in agricultural companies, the Prime Minister remarked that there are plans to allocate around Br500 billion for buying fuel this year. “The country has accumulated sufficient fuel reserves. All measures have been taken to prepare and carry out a successful harvesting campaign,” stressed Sergei Sidorsky.