Despite the whims of the weather, Belarusian agrarians are successfully coping with the tasks of producing agricultural products set by the Head of State, and are demonstrating worthy results. Domestic science plays a significant role in shaping the harvest. This was stated by Eroma Urban, the First Deputy General Director for Scientific Work of the RUP "Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Agriculture", at a press conference "The Contribution of Agricultural Scientists to the Development of the Country's Agro-Industrial Complex" at the National Press Center, as reported by a correspondent of sb.by.

Together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the scientists of the center have updated the structure of sown areas. In particular, over the past few years, the republic has significantly expanded the area of winter grain crops, which consistently outperform spring crops in terms of yield, emphasized Eroma Urban. To adapt to climate change, specialists have updated the technological regulations for growing plants. Food security is guaranteed by the domestic seed fund: for almost every cultivated crop, a system of domestic high-yielding, adaptive varieties has been created.

In just the last two years, the State Register of Varieties has been supplemented with more than 50 new developments from the RUP "Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Agriculture". All the new varieties have the highest potential yield (over 100 centners per hectare for grain crops, and over 60 for winter rapeseed and legumes) and compete on an equal footing with the best achievements of foreign breeding. In 2026, more than 170 varieties of plants bred by the NPC were grown on the fields of the republic, occupying over 70 percent of the sown areas. The popularity of domestic seed products is growing not only within the country, but also beyond its borders: 85 Belarusian varieties have already been included in the state registers of CIS countries.

Since 2026, 25 new varieties of our breeding have been included in the state register, and 75 have undergone state variety testing, the speaker noted. The most important areas in the breeding of agricultural crops remain yield, adaptability to changing environmental conditions, tolerance to diseases and pests, and high product quality. For example, the new winter wheat variety "aylin" showed a yield of over 130 centners per hectare in state variety testing, and the new spring wheat variety "karta" created by our breeders not only has a yield of up to 86 centners per hectare but can also be used to produce high-quality baked goods without adding "filler" flour. As a result of breeding work, the winter wheat variety "stefa" with purple grain color has been created and submitted for state variety testing. Wheat with anthocyanin coloring contains an increased amount of antioxidants and can be used as raw material for functional food products.

A full-scale breeding process for creating hybrids of winter rye, rapeseed, and corn is underway at the center, and active work is being carried out to create joint hybrids of sugar beet with Russian organizations.

The highly effective system of breeding and seed production of agricultural plants created at the center, as well as its modern material and technical base, are capable of fully providing domestic agricultural producers with a wide range of varieties, as well as original and elite seeds that meet all requirements, the speaker emphasized.