President and farmer exchange unusual gifts

31 мая 2021

This is a story of a surprising meeting and exchange of unusual gifts. A couple of weeks ago the President visited a new organic market in Valerianovo. It is located at the exit from Minsk in the direction of Logoisk. It was Alexander Lukashenko's initiative to create such a marketplace where farmers could sell exclusively organic products. The head of state stopped by to see how his order was fulfilled. It was there that he had a conversation with a farmer, the owner of a household farm in Volozhin District. He promised the head of state he would give him a cowslip. After the meeting he wrote a letter to the Administration of the President and confirmed his proposal. And Venus (that is the cow's name) is already adapting to the President's farmstead. Alexander Lukashenko, in his turn, presented a bull of Holstein breed to the farmer.

Eco-farm in Volozhin District

6 years ago, farmer Alexander Shvidkiy founded a private subsidiary farm in Volozhin District. He grows exclusively green fodder and root crops, holds goats and several breeds of cows: Jersey and Ayrshire. The organic production standards are maintained.

The farm's own products (eggs, homemade milk, various types of cheese, honey) are sold at the newly opened organic market in Valerianovo. The President visited the market a couple of weeks ago.

Farmer Alexander Shvidkiy is a very principled technologist. His cows are really like those on billboards advertising milk. It is obvious that the farmer treats his cows with great love and care and gets the result. Alexander kept his word and presented  a cowslip to the head of the state. Her name is Venus. Of course, she has got used to her first master and at first she didn't want to leave.

In return, our President presented a Holstein bull to the farmer. A new master and a new place is always a stress for an animal. But the newcomer quickly adapted to the new environment.

Alexander told us that this is his second meeting with the head of State. The first was in 1997, in Komarovka, at that time he was selling meat. The President also stopped by to see the range and prices. And now, almost a quarter of a century later, who would have thought that such an exchange would take place.