ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan plans to increase the export of food products by 40 percent by 2021 through diversification of agricultural production. In 2017, the agro food export is expected to grow 10 percent, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
Six tasks have been set before the Ministry of Agriculture to turn the agro-industrial sector into a new driver of Kazakhstan’s economy, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Kairat Aituganov told a press conference on February 9.
Firstly, it is necessary to reconsider the principles of allocation of subsidies. Currently, new rules are under development and will soon be adopted; as a result 11 possible types of inefficient subsidies will be abolished and the coverage of state support measures for agricultural producers will increase 7.5-fold with the same amount of funds.
Secondly, the government will create conditions to help 500 thousand private farms and small farms join into cooperatives within five years. At the moment, 154 cooperatives have already been created; more than 100 milk collection centers and 7,000 family feedlots were organized on their basis. The number of new cooperatives will be doubled in the current year.
Thirdly, the sector should increase the level of processing of agricultural products, to create an effective storage, transportation and marketing system.
Fourthly, it is necessary to increase productivity and reduce production costs through modernization and introduction of the latest agricultural technologies.
The fifth task is to improve the efficiency of land use and increase the area of irrigated land by 40% within five years.
And the sixth task is to increase investment in the agro-scientific research. Work on the creation of two agricultural centers on the basis of the National Agricultural University in Almaty and the Kazakh Agro Technical University in Astana has already begun.
