CARACAS, 9 April (BelTA) – A delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Belarus led by Agriculture and Food Minister Semyon Shapiro has flown to Venezuela to flesh out the cooperation arrangements in the agricultural industry and sign contracts, BelTA has learnt. The protocols of intent concluded during the recent visit of the Belarusian President to Caracas include the construction of an agrotown in Ato Pedregal. From the Belarusian side this project will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Architecture and Construction. The Belarusian delegation already held meetings with the top executives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Commerce Ministry of Venezuela. The Belarusian delegation is also to tour Ato Pedregal village where an agrotown will be built. Under the project proposed by Belarusian experts, the agrotown will occupy 4,350 hectares, of which 3,000 hectares will be farmland, said Director of the Belgiprovodkhoz enterprise Anatoly Krasutsky. The agrotown is to specialize in the innovative meat and dairy production. A dairy farm to be constructed is to breed 800 heads of dairy cattle and 2,000 heads of beef cattle. The 12,000 hog-raising farm will be the largest facility to be built in the agrotown. About 500 tonnes of beef and 400 tonnes of pork in the carcass weight equivalent are to be produced there. The annual milk yield is to make up 2,400 tonnes. The cottages to be built in the agrotown are to accommodate 560 families or 2,800 people. Apart from meat and dairy production, Belarus offers to develop crop farming. The projected production of fodder crops is to amount to 25,000 tonnes, grain maize 10,000 tonnes, vegetables 2,000 tonnes and fruit 1,500 tonnes. “The construction of the agrotown of Ato Pedregal does not mean that Venezuela will stop buying finished products from Belarus. Today Venezuela imports Belarusian milk powder and is interested in the deliveries of butter,” Semyon Shapiro said. Since 2008, Venezuela has purchased 19,400 tonnes of milk powder 26 fat from Belarus. In 2010, milk powder worth $36 million was shipped to Venezuela.

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