OREANDA-NEWS. The nature of financing of the agriculture industry in Belarus will be changing, said the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, during his today’s working trip to Grodno region, reported the Presidential website http://president.gov.by.

During the visit, the Head of State got acquainted with the progress in the ongoing harvesting campaign in the region, surveyed the soil preparation currently underway for the sowing of winter and stubble crops, looked at how the process of processing and storing grain and seed-stock was organised and visited the agricultural production cooperative Gervyaty.

The President was reported on the progress in implementing the 2005-2010 State Programme of Rural Revival and Development in the agricultural enterprises of Grodno region.

Alexander Lukashenko pointed to the importance of stepping up the economic efficiency of agricultural production in Belarus and ordered that the state rural revival programme should be implemented in full. In the near future, the main funds allocated for rural development will be channelled into materialising this vital programme.

According to him, it is planned to gradually cut subsidies to agriculture in Belarus. The issues related to providing subsidies should be kept under strict control, Alexander Lukashenko said. The President added that, beginning from 2008, the state would subsidise agricultural companies by 50 percent; one year later they ought to be able to operate efficiently without subsidies. Funds will be provided only for highly-profitable projects that can be implemented within a short period of time.

Alexander Lukashenko visited a local secondary school and a physical and recuperation sports complex.

The Head of State had a warm conversation with the residents of agro-town Gryvyaty. Answering their questions, the President urged them not to worry about the stability of the national currency.

As he noted, today Belarus has two times more gold and foreign currency reserves than a year before. “This is why the [Belarusian] rouble will be stable; we will be strengthening it. The stability of the national currency is the number-one issue. If the rouble collapses, this country collapses. I regard it as a vital issue. We just don’t speak that much about it: money doesn’t like too much talking. But people may be absolutely confident about the security of their savings kept in Belarusian roubles,” the Head of State said.