The assignment to develop an ambitious programme aimed at saving the villages, raising the performance level of the agroindustrial complex and making the rural life more attractive had been given by the Belarusian leader in September 2003. The rural areas account for 90 percent of this country’s territory. Over 30 percent of the population reside there. It is the rural public that ensures the food security of our country. What is more, the villages are the source and keeper of the national traditions, of the Belarusian language, of the folklore, of the folk arts. To preserve and develop this source is an important task of the State. Today’s socio-economic situation in this republic makes it possible to start efficient implementation of that task.

Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that the pivot of all the transformations in rural areas must be radical improvement of the cultural and public facilities in the life of rural population. “Man must be the focal point of the Programme, all the rest comes next. What is most important in this connection is creating agrarian population centres and equipping them with an appropriate infrastructure, and only after it comes to tractors, livestock and so on.”

An important point of the Programme is raising the employment ratio of rural residents, preserving and creating new job places.