Issues of organizing the harvest were discussed at a meeting of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee
About 780 combine harvesters are working in the fields of the Vitebsk region, harvesting rapeseed and starting to harvest grain in some districts. However, about 1.2 thousand such agricultural machines are needed for the successful and timely completion of the harvest. Anatoly Linevich and the First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Oleg Matskevich, reviewed the situation at an open meeting, both for the region as a whole and for individual districts. The Aide to the President called the situation with idle combine harvesters and a shortage of combine operators, about 30 of whom are on sick leave, outrageous and noted that preparations for the harvest should have been made in advance, and the entire fleet should have been brought into proper condition well ahead of time. "If a machine operator gets sick, find him a replacement. Combine harvesters must not stand idle. Harvesting is almost martial law, you need to be ready for anything. And for every day of downtime, there must be severe punishment," said Anatoly Linevich.
"We are sending combine harvesters and specialists from other regions and cities to those districts where there is a shortage of equipment and machine operators. The region is 89% provided with machine operators, and about 500 more have been sent to help the agrarians, including students who are working as combine operator assistants, as well as employees of various organizations. The specificity of the work of combine operators is that they must not only be able to operate such complex equipment but also obtain special permits. Also, the parent enterprises will help the agro-industrial associations with workers and equipment, and a scheme for such assistance has been developed," noted the Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Regional Executive Committee, Sergey Egorov.
He also added that not all organizations have allocated people to help the village during the harvest: in the region, 16 enterprises have not sent their workers to the fields. Sergey Egorov emphasized that constant negotiations are being held with their leaders on this issue, but Oleg Matskevich reacted harshly. "If enterprises ignore the decision of the regional executive committee, we will not stand on ceremony with them. Now, harvesting grain is the top priority, everyone should understand this," he stated unequivocally.
The representative of the Vitebsk Meat Processing Plant spoke about the strategy of patronage assistance: the enterprise will send 3-4 combine harvesters to the Senno district, where 3 combine harvesters of the plant are already working. As soon as rapeseed is harvested from the fields, the equipment will be redeployed for grain harvesting in the same district. Similar interaction is planned for each parent enterprise of agro-industrial associations: all leaders know where to send equipment and specialists.
Oleg Matskevich ordered to provide him with information about the enterprises that refuse to help during the harvest season, and to report on the completion of rapeseed harvesting and the start of grain harvesting. "Also, assess the personnel. Everything can be explained, but you can't save the harvest with words. The weather is unpredictable, we need to harvest here and now," he concluded.