The main goal of the agro-industrial sector development shall be to organize the efficient stable and competitive production process for output of agricultural products and foodstuffs, ensure food security of this country, build up export potential, and provide for import reduction.

Intensification of production on the basis of application of technological progress achievements and innovative activity shall be the priority lines in the agricultural sector in order to ensure sustainable development of the agricultural sector.

Implementation of program measures will enable to attain the following targets by 2010: share of innovative product will make 18.2 percent of the total factory shipment; share of certified product will amount to 62 percent of the aggregate output; wear rate of active parts of basic production assets will drop to 48.5 percent; share of expenses for equipment, toolware and implements will make 50.2 percent of investments in the fixed capital.

Large-scale adoption of innovative developments of the agricultural science can ensure considerable increase of effectiveness in the agricultural production and social sector development in rural areas, as is provided for by State Rural Area Revival and Development Program for 2005 – 2010, and by the programs of certain agricultural branches development such as: Animal Breeding, Feedstock, Fur Processing and Fur Products Development Program for 2002 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 988 dated July 22, 2002 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2002, No 85, 5/10844); Fruit Farming State Goal-Oriented Program for 2004 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 645 dated May 31, 2004 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2004, No. 89, 5/14330); Republican Program of Agriculture Equipping with Modern National Machinery for 2005 – 2010, approved by Edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 137 dated March 17, 2005 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No. 43, 1/6324); Hydroeconomic Engineering for Populated Areas and Agricultural Land Protection from Spates in the Most Dangerous Areas of Polesye, Republican Program for 2005 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 311 dated March 23, 2005 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No. 52, 5/15756); Veterinary Medications and Veterinary Kits State Development Program for 2005 – 2008, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 344 dated March 30, 2005 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No. 54, 5/15795); Reclaimed Areas Preservation and Utilization, Republican Program for 2006 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 459 dated May 5, 2005 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No. 74. 5/15927); Meet and Dairy Industry Development Program for 2005 – 2010 and Sugar Industry Development Program for 2005 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 792 dated July 15, 2005 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2005, No. 112, 5/16282); Program of Poultry Farming Development in the Republic Belarus for 2006 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 444 dated March 31, 2006 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2006, No. 56, 5/22134); Fish Industry Development Program for 2006 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministry of the Republic of Belarus No. 535 dated April 19, 2006 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2006, No. 71, 5/22235); Potato Growing Development Program for 2006 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 912 dated July 21, 2006 (National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus, 2006, No. 122, 5/22636).

Agro-Industrial Complex as Rural Area Revival and Development SREP for 2006 – 2010 shall ensure scientific support of State Rural Area Revival and Development Program for 2005 – 2010.

In Agriculture and Crop Production

1. Development and manufacturing application of high-yielding high-grade agricultural and hybrid cereals, pulse plants, grains, cruciferous plants, oil-bearing plants, flax, potato, and permanent grasses, using traditional methods and modern scientific achievements in biotechnology, genetics, and selection.
2. Development and manufacturing application of feasible and environmentally safe technologies for crop production, enabling maximum realization of the plants’ genetic potential within certain ecological zones of the Republic, under minimum power inputs, to ensure ploughland performance at the level of 70 – 85 centners of feed units per hectare, meadow lands performance at the level of 30 – 40 centners of feed units per hectare. Improvement of husbandry systems and tilling techniques with respect to certain ecological zones of the Republic in order to ensure the most efficient use of natural, social and economic resources, and environmental protection.
3. Policy development for the most efficient use of soil on the basis of fresh data on quality and quantity thereof, efficient soil degradation protection methods. Soil fertility recovery on the basis of resource-saving and environmentally friendly technologies.
4. Development and application of resource-saving technologies for macro- and micro-fertilizing of different types of soils within the Republic, based on optimization of mineral fertilizing of crops, methods of improvement of crops in which the contents of macro- and micro-elements is well balanced.
5. Development and improvement of the soil reclamation farming and grass farming zonal systems taking account of dynamics of reclaimed area transformation process; selection and seed growing of hygrophilous and drought-resistant species of permanent grasses; development of their cultivation technologies.
6. Development of economically and environmentally justified resource-saving technologies for technical maintenance, repairs and reconstruction of durable agricultural reclaimed systems, reclamation project servicing facilities in the first place.
7. Development and application of technologies for optimization of phyto-sanitary situation in agrocoenosis, which technologies are based on integrated plant protection and ensure raising the crop yield level by 10 – 40 percent and the ecological purity level by 25 – 30 percent.
8. Development and adoption of ecologic-toxicological principles of control of the number and reduction of injuriousness of especially dangerous disease-producing factor and weeds through use of the latest weed and pest killers, home-produced ones including.

In the Field of Mechanization of Rural Economy and Processing of Agricultural Products

1. Development and manufacturing application of competitive import-substitution technological complexes, ensuring increase of the comprehensive mechanization level approximately by 70 percent in the crop sector, and approximately by 55 percent in the livestock sector, reduction of energy intensity in the farming industry by 15 percent, reduction of materials capacity by 16 percent, products saving at growing, harvesting and storage by 20 – 30 percent.
2. Development and manufacturing application of competitive functional meat and dairy products, bacterial concentrates and ferments for their production.
3. Rationing of raw, material, energy and natural resources for meat and dairy products output. Development of normative documents; certification of foodstuffs, quality control systems, equipment of the enterprises of the dairy and meat industry.

Water bodies of the Republic of Belarus are able to meet the national market’s requirements in fish more than by 60 percent. Both pond aquaculture and pisciculture in natural and artificial reservoirs play the main part in fish breeding. The State Rural Area Revival and Development Program for 2005 – 2010 provides for the package of measures to renew and reconstruct production facilities of the fisheries with a view to bring up pondfish output to 13 thousand tons. By 2010 the total volume of fresh fish output shall make 18 – 20 thousand tons annually. Utilization of the fish breeding closed water-supply systems is among the promising lines of aquaculture. Fish breeding in such systems ensures year-round production of special table fish (sturgeons, trout, wells and catfishes, tilapia). Both temperature conditions and water cycle rate, as well as hydrochemical indices of water are controlled in the premises where such systems are installed. Flowing through fish breeding reservoirs, water is purified with mechanical and biological filters and it joins the fish-breeding process again. All this makes such technology ecologically safe and much more producing as compared to traditional fish breeding. So, one cubic meter of such system breeds thousandfold quantity of fish than fishponds. Moreover, such fish breeding closed water-supply systems enable early breeding of commercial young fishes, which fact conditions high rate of market fish production. So, the standard average mass of underyearling carp in the pond fisheries makes 25 g, which is uncommon in practice. In the fish breeding closed water-supply systems the underyearling carp weigh may reach the average mass of 100 g. Such young fishes enable breeding of market carp, which average mass reaches 1 – 1.5 kg within the two-year cycle, whereas in the majority of fisheries in this country the two-year carps’ average mass reaches only 300 – 400 g. Ability of breeding fish absolutely pure from radioactive nuclides is a positive property of such fish breeding closed water-supply systems.

The purpose of aquaculture development in the Republic consists in creation of the fish breeding closed water-supply system-based fish hatchery under the Ichthyology and Pisciculture Sub-Department of the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, to ensure production of up to 20 million tons of specimens of young fishes and 50 tons of market fish competitive in the world market.

To attain such mentioned goal, the Ichthyology and Pisciculture Sub-Department has developed the technology of reproduction and breeding of Russian sturgeons and blue tilapia.

Establishment of the Biotechnological Animal Reproduction Centre in the premises of Grodno Agrarian University is planned, which aim will be provision of scientific support to the agricultural sector involved in cattle reproduction, breeding and selection, by means of fundamental and applied research aimed at development of high-yielding breeds, species, and families of animals; selection of cows with the yield of at least 9 thousand kg of milk per lactation period, based on development, improvement and practical application of the state-of-the-art biotechnologies such as embryo transplantation, extracorporal embryo-raising, cellular and genetic engineering, and DNA-technologies.

The following practical outcomes of the Centre operation are expected:

1. selection of breeder bulls of desired families and yield, for Shchuchin Pedigree Stock-Breeding Farm with a view to subsequent utilization thereof for development of high-yielding breeds, species, and families of animals; selection of cows with the yield of at least 9 thousand kg of milk per lactation period;
2. use of such mentioned Centre as a structural subdivision of the regional high-tech training ground for Grodno region, for training students and re-training tutors and agricultural specialists;
3. raising animals with the preset properties;
4. validation of breed lineage on the basis of DNA analysis;
5. sexing and detection of congenital genovariations by earlier stage of embryogenesis (7 – 8 days).

The expected payback period will be from 3 to 5 years from complete commissioning of the Centre.

As regards creation of new enterprises and production facilities (combined with adoption of innovative technologies) in the existing enterprises, the following is planned for 2007 – 2010:

1. Berezatara Republican Unitary Production Enterprise: production of Tetra-Pack-type packaging of laminated and foil-reinforced paper for food products; manufacture of non-standard equipment and metal structures; organization of varnishing and tin lithographic processing production facilities;
2. Broiler PRF: construction of the first-order Poultry Reproducing Farm to breed Ross-cross poultry;
3. Zadneprovsky Selection and Hybrid Centre Republican Agricultural Unitary Enterprise in Orsha region: construction of the pig-breeding farm for 250 main sows;

A project for selection process acceleration and development of new varieties of beneficial plants, as well as development of new methods of genepool improvement and pedigree seed and planting stock production on the virus-free basis using biotechnological methods, has been elaborated at the Belarusian Agricultural Academy. Equipping of greenhouses with the additional illumination system for 1 or 2 plant generations growing in winter will enable selection process acceleration.

Such project provides for completion of construction and reconstruction of the selection greenhouses of 0.25 ha area, and delivery of the mist-plant-based mist system, the additional illumination system (Peflax Company); installation work.

Pilot production development in the premises of Vitebsk Biofactory Private Production Unitary Enterprise, city of Vitebsk, is also planned in order to launch the production of about 70 brand- new high-tech veterinary medications for treatment of animals and prophylaxis of diseases. At present, science-intensive projects are practically unclaimed by the manufacturers of veterinary medications, as the technologies used by the same have gone out of date.

Purchase of two up-to-date compact powder and solution making modules is required for the project implementation. Purchase of raw materials and other consumables is also necessary. This will enable to release, in 2008, 6 brand-new medications in the form of powder and 3 in the form of solutions. Subsequently, the range of goods will be supplemented with other products.

The agricultural organizations will be furnished out with therapeutic agents and prophylactic drugs efficient for treatment of animal diseases. Such medications will be cheaper than the imported ones they will be used for the batch method treatment of different pathological states of animals.

Annually approximately 2 million portions of bacterial concentrates (6 tons) are purchased to satisfy the demand of dairy enterprises involved on cheese making, output of cultured milk foods, release of therapeutic and preventive and other products. The cost of such medications makes at least EUR 20 million. No in-house fabrication exists in the Republic of Belarus.

To satisfy the demand of the Republic’s organizations for bacterial concentrates, Meat, Dairy, Sugar Industries and the Potato Growing and Processing Development Program for 2005 – 2010, approved by Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 792 dated July 15, 2005, provides for creation of production facilities for bacterial concentrates release in the existing working area of Exmoltech Republican Production Unitary Enterprise. For this purpose, reconstruction of such mentioned enterprise is scheduled for 2006 – 2010. The estimated budget of such reconstruction will make 22 billion roubles.

This enterprise has been filed into the List of high-tech production facilities and enterprises of the Republic of Belarus. Moreover, the project titled ‘The Reconstruction of the Engineering Building in Exmoltech Republican Production Unitary Enterprise for Bacterial Concentrates Output’ has been included into the list of construction projects and jobs financed in 2006 at the expense of Innovative Fund of the Ministry of Agriculture and Foodstuffs; in addition, the same enterprise has been included into the List of Projects within the Branch Import Substitution Program for 2006 – 2010 for the Republican-ownership-pattern enterprises subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture and Foodstuffs. At the same time, registration of Exmoltech Republican Production Unitary Enterprise as the Minsk free economic zone resident is in progress.

In the field of operating production facilities modernization on the bases of innovative technologies application

It is suggested, that the manufacture of wear-resistant change parts (reverse units, chisel, plowshare, moldboard wing and front), PPN-8-50/50-type unified ploughs should be launched on the base of production facilities of Minsk Gear-Wheel Plant Republican Unitary Enterprise, whereto special thermal processing will be applied developed at the Belarusian State Agrarian University.

It is also suggested, that, based on modernization of production facilities and innovative technologies, modified 5HNML cast steel–making practice to cast die inserts for hot forging crank press should be adopted at Belcard Open Joint Stock Company, which practice has been developed at the Belarusian State Agrarian University in cooperation with the Institute for Physics and Technology under the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

In 2007 – 2010, the total amount of financing for creation of new enterprises or new production facilities at the existing enterprises, and modernization of the existing enterprises will make 574342.8 million roubles, in particular, 387909.8 million roubles from the Republican budget, 6960 million roubles from local budgets, 925422.35 million roubles at the expense of banking credits, 119400 million roubles at the expense of loans and borrowing, 26973 million roubles from other sources.