The leading science and education establishments in the field of organic agriculture in Belarus are Belarusian State Agricultural Academy and first of all Grodno State Agricultural University. There is a chair of entomology and biological plant protection in the University, and methodical recommendations “The Code of Ecological Agriculture” were developed, the students of the agricultural department are given a course “The Production of Pollution-Free Agricultural Products”, the students do practical work on ecological farms in Europe. There is an agricultural ecological department and the specialty “Ecology of Agriculture”, the magistracy is open for this specialty in Belarusian State Agricultural Academy. But the majority of scientific workings and publications are devoted to the intensive methods of the production of agricultural products.
When quality rating of scientific workings, only internal but not international standards are used. But there are activities of “environmental compliance” of the scientific working results, e.g. the decrease of negative impact on environment. There is no holistic approach to organic agriculture; it is not considered as a system, but as a set of methodologies.
The declaration of the necessity to “ecologization” the agriculture and to use “ecological methods” very often occurs in the publications of leading Belarusian scientists in special press. But it is not the matter of organic agriculture, it is about the attempts to improve the existing agricultural practice and to decrease the negative impact on the environment. This is no doubt the positive tendency, although the impression is that it is formal “ecologization”, which is only on paper.
It is noted in publications that “ecologization” of agricultural production in Belarus has real prospects and is preferable in comparison with further intensification owing to the compared low density of population and better provision with agricultural holdings per head in comparison with other European countries. On examination of modern agricultural problems the authors take into account the social factor.
There was an article of the Presidium Vice-chairman of the NAS of Belarus V.G.Gusakov “The Agricultural Ecological Strategy in Belarus. What Shall It Be?” in the magazine called “Belarusian Agriculture (No.9 and 10 of 2005)”, where the pro-ecological and systemic approach to the development of agriculture is displayed. As the “most important and prospective activities in the context of new agricultural policy” there was among the other the official introduction of State Bio Label for the marking of foodstuff, the creation of huge special zones for the production of ecologically clean products with the use of extensive inferior techniques in the country, the improvement of management system by refusing from the centralized administration methods and the transition to the economic and legal control methods, the provision of stable socio-economic development of agriculture. The author writes that it is necessary to adopt the “Ecological Agriculture” state program.
The publications devoted to the practical methods of the organic agricultural conduction, which is seen as a system are innumerous. First of all we shall note the book which was published by Belarusian-German joint venture “Hope-XXI Century” which is called “Practical Recommendations for the Ecologically Clean Agricultural Conduction in the Republic of Belarus” (the authors are S.A.Tarasenko, A.V.Sviridov). It has the recommendations how to grow ecologically clean vegetable products, the short description of the rules and norms of the ecological agriculture.
Thus, in Belarus there are not sufficient scientific researches in the field of the organic agriculture and there is no holistic approach to it, but it has the scientific potential which can adopt the international experience and create its own methology which will be adapted to our country’s conditions. But even now to the less extent the scientific workings of the alternative agricultural methods, biological methods of the plant protection in particular, are financed and supported by the State. The research and methods are necessary not only in crop production and cattle breeding, but also in economy and other related branches.