OREANDA-NEWS. July 25, 2014. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed four decrees prepared by the interagency taskforce to straighten out the agricultural industry.

Decree No. 347 “Concerning the state agrarian policy” aims to improve the agrarian policy mechanisms and provides for measures to create economic and legal conditions for the effective operation of economic entities in rural areas.

The document guarantees the fulfillment of international agreements which restrict the application of state support as it complicates trade.

Decree No. 348 “Concerning measures to raise the efficiency of agricultural organizations” aims to stimulate the establishment of large holding companies in the agricultural sector and to improve the terms of crediting for agricultural companies.

The decree will prompt integration processes in the agricultural industry, make loans for agricultural purposes more affordable, release working assets of companies which can be used to raise the productivity of farms.

Decree No. 349 “Concerning the reorganization of agricultural production cooperatives” envisages that collective farms shall be turned into agricultural associations or unitary enterprises before 31 December 2016.

The organizational and legal status of a judicial body which will be established after the reorganization of a collective farm will be determined at the session of its members. If a collective farm is turned into an agricultural association the shares in the authorized fund of the new organization will be distributed between members of the former collective farm and the administration of the region where this collective farm was located.

In line with the decree, the judicial body established after the restructuring of the collective farm will use relevant land plots. Measures of economic stimulation which were previously applied to the collective farm will be provided to the new organization as well.

Decree No. 350 “Concerning the procurement of agricultural products for republican needs” aims to streamline the legal framework in this field and to protect the interests of agricultural manufacturers.