OREANDA-NEWS. August 30, 2010.  Belarus plans to become self-sufficient in corn seed in 2013, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was briefed during his working trip to Gomel Oblast on 30 August.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, the course of events showed that the decision once taken to expand the sowing area under this agricultural crop was not a mistake. In 2005 the country sowed nearly 480,000 hectares with corn. This figure has recently risen to 800,000 hectares. The task was both to step up corn production and satisfy the domestic demand for corn seeds, which were mostly imported before.

The president gave the instructions to construct a corn calibration plant in Mozyr District in 2004. Today the head of state paid a visit to the Krinichnaya experimental base to get familiar with the technological process of corn seed production.

There are two corn calibration plants in Belarus – in Mozyr District (Gomel Oblast) and Ivatsevichi District (Brest Oblast). This year 23,000 tonnes of corn seeds were sown, including 14,000 tonnes of domestic production. In terms of crop yield, Belarusian varieties of corn are on a par with imported seeds. In addition, the country also saves a great chunk of currency resources. This year the country has saved €19 million.

In the future Belarus satisfies its corn seed demand in full. It will also have an opportunity to export corn seeds as the global demand for corn seeds is high enough.

Back in 2001 the President supported the proposal of Belarusian scientists to meet the country’s demand for corn seed by 80-90% by means of creating calibration shops, and gave orders then to study the issue of providing the country with Belarus-grown corn seeds. In the early 2000s Belarus imported about 15,000 tonnes of corn seeds on average annually. The main importer was Moldova (accounting for around 80% of the total imports). About 7% of corn seeds were imported from Europe and 6% from Russia. Local production of corn seeds in Belarus amounted to 7%.

The first stage of the Mozyr corn calibration plant, which production capacity is 2,500 tonnes, was commissioned in February 2005. The Mozyr corn calibration plant reached the designed capacity in 2008 after the third stage (10 tonnes per year) was commissioned.
The second corn calibration plant in Ivatsevichi District was put into operation in 2009. The capacity of this facility is 2,500 tonnes of corn seeds per year, with a possibility to expand up to 5,000 tonnes.

In August 2007, during working trips around Minsk and Grodno Oblasts, the head of state stressed once again that it was necessary to establish domestic production of corn seeds. “Those who say that it is more profitable to buy corn abroad are absolutely wrong. It is much cheaper and more profitable to grow it at home,” the Belarusian leader said then. He gave orders to adjust the rural development program to increase the production of corn seeds and set out a goal to get the corn harvest of 1 million tonnes in the future.