OREANDA-NEWS. January 11, 2013. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov called on specialized agencies to do everything possible to achieve the projected yield of winter crops in 2013. This was started by the Prime Minister at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

“The day before yesterday the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center announced a forecast of wintering of crops. It reads: “taking into account the state of crops in autumn, the expected weather conditions by the end of January and on conditions that in February no significant weather anomaly is anticipated a potential level of harvesting of winter crops of 2013 can be by 20-30% higher in comparison to 2012”. This is our guideline to the harvest and we should do all the best to achieve our goals”, Mykola Azarov said.

The Prime Minister said that there are more than 8 million hectares in general under winter crops in Ukraine. According to current information, as of the beginning of January seedling of winter crops is on 96% of farmland. Moreover, compared with the 2011 year, there are in three times less weakened crops: "This is a good indicator that gives hope for a good harvest."

According to the PM, spring field works begin in two months in southern Ukraine.

However, as noted Mykola Azarov, not everywhere is good: in the regions of the Crimean Autonomous Republic the shoots of crops were received only on two-thirds of the planted areas, in Luhansk region – on 73% of the area. Large amount of weakened shoots were found in Kherson and Odesa regions. "This happened through the lack of precipitations in autumn. And economies of the mentioned regions will start spring field works earlier than others. It is evident that the fate of harvest in these regions depends on how in optimal agro-technical terms they would manage to reseed the areas where the shoots died or were hardly damaged", the Prime Minister said.

At the same time Mykola Azarov noted that the planned harvest should solve key issues: " to completely provide the country with food grain, to give sufficient fodder base for increase of livestock – firstly of cattle, and fully satisfy our export contracts".

“So the strengthened attention of the Cabinet of Ministers to the preparation activity to the spring filed season is rather reasonable”, PM stressed.