The practical experience and prospects for doing business in organic agriculture in Belarus through the lenses of foreign best practices and consumption potential across the EU and EAEU markets were reviewed today during the online panel discussion “Investment Potential of Organic Agriculture” organized by NAIP in the framework of the 8th International Conference on Organic Farming in Belarus.
Speaking on the specifics of organic agriculture in Belarus, Mr. Andrei Abramov, Rural Entrepreneur, Creator and Owner of “Yodishki Khutor” trademark (Belarus) emphasized the priority to develop extensive processing and closed loop production of organic goods to grow a sustainable business in this sector.
Access to sufficient water and land resources, availability of qualified labour force and use of up-to-date technologies and equipment are the key factors for the successful development of organic agriculture in the world and Belarus, in particular, according to Mr. Marcel de Jong, a representative of “Bodem&Groen” (Belgium) with 20 years of experience in organic businesses.
Assessing the potential of organic produce market in Belarus from the retail’s perspective, Ms. Natalya Shablinskaya, Executive Director of the non-profit “Association of Retail Chains” (Belarus) confirmed the interest of main retail chains towards more organic products on the grocery stores’ shelves, while having noticed this kind of goods’ exclusive nature and expressed hope for more energized efforts aimed to make organic products more popular in our country.
The event’s attendees were also briefed on the measures the government adopts to support organic agriculture development in Belarus, as well as on loan programmes offered to finance investments in business projects in this field.
Over 40 participants from 15 countries showed their interest to the online discussion.