OREANDA-NEWS. February 28, 2008. In 2008, Belarus needs to reduce the import of fodder grain to the maximum, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Ivan Bambiza noted during a session of the board of the Belarusian Ministry of Agriculture and Foodstuffs, reported the Official website www.government.by.

According to specialists of the Ministry of Agriculture and Foodstuffs, in 2008 animal production units and poultry factories of Belarus will require around 4 million tonnes of fodder grain, or 500 thousand tonnes more as against 2007.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Foodstuffs Vasiliy Pavlovsky, in 2008 agricultural companies will increase the crops of grain and pulse plants up to 2.2 million hectares. They are expected to produce around 600 thousand tonnes of pulse plants. This year agricultural companies will start to produce soybean, lupine and clover which contain a lot of protein. They will expand the crops of corn from 104 thousand hectares to 840 thousand hectares.

The production of grain and pulse plants will be boosted due to using the high-yielding seeds and mineral fertilizers and cropping system optimizing.