Agrarian science in general and a number of agrarian scientists were at the forefront of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR. Researches and knowledge in the field of this science in the republic originated in the last third of the XVIII century. Their formation was accelerated by occurrence of Gory-Goretskaya agricultural school 180 years ago in Mogilev province and of the Institute of Belarusian Culture (Inbelkult) in 1922, which gave start to the Academy of Sciences in 1928. It also included agricultural research institutes, which in 1940 made up 30 % of the total number of research institutions in the BSSR. In 1957–2002 agrarian science was united by the sectoral Academy. In 2002 it was included into the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus again, Department of Agrarian Sciences was created which included 25 research organizations, 7 agricultural and 2 industrial enterprises. Today, agricultural knowledge is formed by the structural sub-divisions of the Agrarian Sciences Division of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, other scientific organizations of the Academy, and their joint researches. There are five leading research and production centers for arable farming, livestock breeding, potato and fruit-and-vegetable farming, mechanization of agriculture and foodstuffs, which combined specialized research all the areas of the country's agro-industrial complex and to strengthening the country's agrarian economy. Agrarian scientists have established close relations with colleagues in many countries of the world, but the closest relations have been established with Russian research institutes: a number of research and technical programs have been implemented within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. There are many famous people among Belarusian agrarians being highly appreciated by the state. Thus, agrarian science of the Republic of Belarus has passed a serious stage of development throughout its history, retaining connection and tradition of several generations of scientists of fundamental importance for research work in the XXI century.

Importance of agriculture as a central link of agro-industrial complex for ensuring the food security of the Republic of Belarus cannot be overestimated. However, low profitability of greater part of agricultural producers along with a complicated financial situation require development of ways to improve the efficiency, competitiveness and stability of the industry focusing on improving price, credit and tax policies for agricultural companies. It is also vital to intensify investment activities aimed at a wider use of innovations. When improving the management system, considerable attention should be paid to integrated formations. Due to implementation of quality management systems, it is possible to increase the quality and safety of agricultural products. The paper dwells on the main factors and conditions having effect on raising the efficiency and competitiveness of agricultural sector and stability of its development. Despite significant achievements and positive results in the AIC of Belarus, a number of engineering, economic and social problems remain. Solutions are proposed to solve some of them. In particular, attention is paid to further improvement of economic mechanism of management, the most important components of which are pricing, crediting, taxation and state support and investment for agriculture. All these, combined with proposals to improve the management system of the agrarian sector in conditions of ongoing transformational changes and along with solving problems in activities of integrated formations, as well as implementation of proposals to improve foreign economic activity in the agro-industrial sector, can ensure stable and efficient functioning of agrarian sector. The proposed priority trends can be used for improving the state agrarian policy measures.

The modern development of foreign trade of agricultural products and foodstuffs in the Republic of Belarus is characterized by an intensive increase in export potential, which requires constant search and development of new promising sales markets. For Belarus, participation in regional trade and economic integration associations (free trade zone with participation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)) is considered as one of the directions for creating favorable conditions for exporters to access the markets of partner countries. Implementation of export potential of the member states of the integration association is the subject of negotiations during preparation of agreements and requires searching the balance of concessions between the parties concerned. Therefore, in terms of trade of highly sensitive to import agricultural and processing industry products, a reasoned justification is required for requesting potential partners to ease access regimes for a particular product, given the need to provide reciprocal concessions. In this regard, we have developed a technique for assessing possibilities of developing exports of agricultural products of Belarus when signing agreements on free trade zones between the Eurasian Economic Union and third countries, we also tested the presented technique by the example of such countries as Egypt, Iran, Israel, Indonesia and India as the most likely partners to conclude free trade agreements with the Eurasian Economic Union. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the competitive environment at potential sales markets and an assessment of competitiveness of Belarusian export products, as well as study of measures of foreign trade policy (customs tariff and non-tariff barriers), the most appropriate export commodity groups were identified.

Conducting a scientifically based social-and-economic and migration policy aimed at the efficient use of the labour potential of countries, primarily partners in the EAEU, which is dictated by a common labour market, is currently important for the Republic of Belarus. The study of the prerequisites, trends and patterns of formation and forecasting of the agrarian labour market development in the context of Eurasian integration is of paramount importance. The results of the author's research aimed at identification of features of the agrarian labour market condition formation from the standpoint of the supply and demand, territorial size and structure of the population, the needs of business entities in the labour force are stated; directions of rural migration flows within the EAEU are estimated; the problems that lie in the lack of coordinated activities on the uniform rules of legal employment, recognition of diplomas in the creation of a coherent social and labour policy of the integration association are established; approaches to the formation of a common agrarian labour market and the social and labour policy of the agro-industrial complex in the EAEU have been proposed in the paper. Suggestions and recommendations can be used to substantiate the main directions of the formation of a coherent social and labour policy of the agro-industrial complex of the EAEU member states, harmonization of interests regarding labour migration and pensions system. The scientific significance of the results is in understanding the prerequisites, the essence and objectives of the integration processes, the assessment of the economic and social effect in the labour sphere of the integrating countries. The practical significance lies in assessing the positive aspects of labour integration as a more complete use of the advantages of the international division of labour in the context of globalization by present and potential participants in an integration association.

The economy clustering makes it possible to form a comprehensive look at the state policy of regional development, increase performance, efficiency and competitiveness of business, expand opportunities for innovative development, optimize interaction between various subjects: state, business structures, research and educational establishments and other organizations. As world practice shows, the cluster claims to be one of the key components of the competitiveness of the most progressively developing countries. A list of the most important threats affecting the sustainable development of the agro-industrial complex as a megacluster is presented in the paper: a strong dependence of agricultural sector efficiency on the areas of processing and trade, a high dependence of the agro-industrial complex on the market price condition, a high dependence of domestic agro-industrial production on the external food markets, etc. Critical analysis of literature on stability issues was carried out. It is determined that the existing definitions characterize the production process and its efficiency not significantly. This made it possible to clarify the existing interpretations and characterize stability as the ability of a production or business system to function stably for a long time, despite internal and external threats. Integral components of sustainable development are determined in relation to AIC as a cluster organization: production and economic development, social and economic development, territorial development and maintaining stability of the ecosystem. Own definition of sustainable development of the agro-industrial complex as a megacluster unit has been developed. An extended classification of forms and types of stability of the cluster arrangement of the AIC is proposed. Such systematization gives an objective idea of the multiplicity of stability issues and defines the AIC as a sophisticated megacluster system.

Reserves of heterosis breeding with efficiency undoubtedly higher, have not been fully applied regarding winter rye crop in Belarus, therefore the creation of heterosis F1 hybrids of winter rye is currently a priority research area in the Republic of Belarus. The paper dwells on the main results of rye breeding for heterosis, discusses the problems of growing hybrid rye varieties in agricultural production. Thus, the first experimental line-population F1 hybrids of winter diploid rye were developed at RUE “Scientific and Practical Centre of Belorussian NAS for Arable Farming”: Lobel-103, Galinka, Plisa and interline hybrid Belgi which in the competitive variety test exceeded the standard by 8.0–14.4 dt/ha. F1 winter rye hybrids form more high stem density by the time of harvesting, which provides higher yields compared with the standard. As a result of breeding experiments on the genetic basis of the Belarusian highly adaptive populations, CMS systems with high combining ability have been created. It was shown that R-type CMS is characterized by high frequency of sterility fixation genes, and therefore there are no problems with maintaining MS-forms in generations. More labor-intensive process is allocation of fertility restorers with a high restore index and with a high combination capacity at the same time. Problems in the cultivation of hybrid varieties of rye associated with a number of genetic and soil-climatic causes were revealed.

One of research and applied areas of development of the agricultural branch of science is its digitization nowadays. However, the practical solution of this problem is constrained by the lack of sufficient statistical material for the mathematical provisioning of computer programs for predicting productivity of pigs according to indicators characterizing metabolic processes in their bodies. The aim of the work is to develop a computer zoology-and-hygienic method for predicting the morphological, hematological and immunological parameters of the first litter gilts body according to the level of performance of sows and suckling pigs obtained from them. The paper presents the technique based on curvilinear and nonlinear mathematical interdependencies of hematological indices of the first litter gilts and their performance, which allows to simulate metabolic processes in the body of pigs in correlation with a specific level of their performance. Determining the mechanism of pig productivity formation is not based on the analysis of blood samples from several experimental animals, as it used to be for more than half a century, but from all the pigs taking part in the experiment, i.e. tens and hundreds of animals performance confirmed by the data of the primary zoology engineering registration. Reliability of differences in immunological, morphological and biochemical parameters of pigs blood is achieved through a weighted average of the level of performance and related hematological parameters forming the basis of metabolic processes in experimental animals. Thus, the use of a computer program for zoology engineering and zoology-and-hygienic experiments in pig breeding, where there are primary data on the level of experimental animals performance, allows to simulate one or another mechanism for the formation of specific numerical values of pigs performance, in particular, multiple pregnancy of the first litter gilts, with no blood samples and no morphological, biochemical and immunological analyzes.

Continuous improvement of field sprayer design aimed at performance increase by increasing the working width, requires a special approach to ensure reliability of the supporting rod structure and quality of technological process. The question of rod vibrations, which arise when the driving systems copy field rough surface and abrupt changes in speed of the unit, remains topical. At the design stage of supporting structures of the rods, special attention is paid to the substantiation of its geometrical parameters in the longitudinal and transverse sections; studies of changes in the characteristics of vertical and horizontal vibrations, taking into account the method of the rod hanging and the system used for its stabilization. This allows to ensure the reliability of the rod design and the required quality of the technological process. The article proposes construction of the rod independent pendulum suspension on the sprayer frame and its stabilization system based on the use of damping elements. The analytical studies sequence system was developed for rod vibrations analysis, depending on initial conditions, parameters and characteristics of the used damping elements, under which they are effectively damped. It is shown that at certain numerical values of the geometrical parameters of the rod, the suspension and vibrations damping methods, not only the numerical values of the functions are changed, but also the functions themselves that describe the process of the rod's vertical movement, including cases of resonance. The obtained theoretical results can be used for design and testing of machines with rod working units and allow, at design stages, to simulate the process of movement of various rod structures from external excitatory forces, and to determine patterns of changes in the characteristics of damped vibrations using different damping elements and their installation parameters.

High-quality grass feeds (hay, haylage, silage) decrease cost price, improve consumer properties and increase competitiveness of cattle products significantly being the main component of agricultural export for the Republic of Belarus. An important issue of grass feed procurement is acceleration of mowed grass drying process. Reduction of drying time or drying process acceleration has a positive effect on feed quality. To achieve this goal, technique of laying the mowed grass on stubble, in rolls or spreading, turning and conditioning is applied. Based on practical experience of application and analysis, the relevance of repeated rolling (reconditioning) of mowed grasses in rolls is substantiated. Design and workflow of new device for such grass rolling has been developed. Its working unit is designed as a sawn-deck or roller flatting apparatus. The kinematic parameters of the upper and lower rollers have been determined experimentally: the rollers rotation ratio should make 1.01 m ωв / ωн m 1.03. Field tests of the device with legumes helped to determined that it accelerates drying by 15–20%, reduces protein loss by 10–15% compared to drying with no treatment. The presented research materials present the development of the theory of grass feeds procurement mechanization. Use of the materials in practice will improve the quality of grass feeds by accelerating the mowed grass drying process.

A prospective source of additional food protein in the meat industry is collagen-containing raw materials: pork skin, connective tissue obtained at meat trimming, collagen-containing by-products, etc., which can be used as part of proteinand-fat emulsions. Collagen emulsions have a wide range of functional properties: moisture and fat retention, foam and gelling abilities, emulsifying activity, active foam, emulsions and dispersions stabilizers, so they can be used as a technological additive in the meat industry. Therefore, the most important task in the process is the complete use of collagen-containing raw materials with the maximum implementation of its properties. The paper presents the results of studies on determining the amino acid composition and balance of collagen-containing raw materials: pork skin, beef tendons, lungs, rumen, beef lips and ears, pork ears, udder, spleen, omasum, skin, head, feet, caruncle, stomach and intestines of poultry. It was determined that collagen-containing raw material contains all the essential amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine and cysteine, phenylalanine and tyrosine, threonine, valine with the amino acid count in the range of 17.1–185.0 %. At the same time, a more balanced amino acid composition in comparison with other types of collagen-containing raw materials is shown by: pork skin, udder, beef lips and trachea, chitterlings, omasum, rumen, lungs and spleen as evidenced by high values of amino acid score (up to 185 %), essential amino acid index (up to 1.1), utility factor of the amino acid composition (up to 0.84), as well as the approximate values of the comparable redundancy index (0.0007–0.0043). The research results confirm the prospectiveness of combining muscle and connective tissue proteins in recipes of meat products of high nutritional and biological value.