The issues of preparation for spring field work in Kazakhstan were discussed today at a Government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, according to the official website primeminister.kz .
The total sown area in the current year in Kazakhstan will amount to 23.4 million hectares, which is 68.6 thousand hectares more than in 2022. It is planned to increase the crops of grain and leguminous crops by 117 thousand hectares, fodder crops — by 36.5 thousand hectares, sunflower — by 30.8 thousand hectares, vegetable crops and potatoes — by 11.1 thousand hectares, sugar beet — by 6.7 thousand hectares.
As Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said at a government meeting today, 140 billion tenge will be allocated for preferential financing of sowing and harvesting operations in Kazakhstan this year. It also provides 20 billion tenge for forward purchase and 87 billion tenge in the form of subsidies.
"The state support provided requires the fulfillment of certain conditions on the part of farmers. This is strict compliance with agricultural technologies, timely application of fertilizers and plant protection products. I would like to emphasize that the volume of fertilizer application is only 26% of the scientific need. Even our neighbors have much higher indicators. At the same time, there are 12 fertilizer plants operating in Kazakhstan, and the state subsidizes farmers to purchase such products. Therefore, it is necessary to focus all these productions, first of all, on the domestic market," the head of government said.
According to him, due to insufficient application of mineral fertilizers to the fields, farmers of the Republic of Kazakhstan annually lack about 10 million tons of high-quality wheat: this is almost half of the harvest. These are the experts' estimates.
In addition, there are losses from soil degradation, weed infestation of fields. Also, mechanisms for reducing the area of moisture-intensive crops have not been sufficiently developed.
One of the reasons for this situation, the head of government called insufficient explanatory work among farmers.
"Farmers need to be offered alternative options for conducting further activities," the Prime Minister said.
According to the Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Karashukeyev, last year, for the first time in the last 10 years, fertilization reached 667 thousand tons, or 26% of the demand. About 704 thousand tons of fertilizers are planned for this year, 63% of them are domestic: ammonium nitrate and ammophos.
"To date, 55 thousand tons of fertilizers have been shipped to farmers for spring field work, including 27 thousand tons to the southern regions. 31.3 billion tenge is provided for the program of subsidizing fertilizers in local budgets. At the same time, according to farmers, there were problems with the provision of ammophos in the southern regions, currently the problem is being solved," Yerbol Karashukeyev informed.
According to the Minister of Energy Bolat Akchulakov, 413 thousand tons of diesel fuel are allocated for spring field work at a reduced cost - 15-20% lower than the market price. The corresponding schedule of fuel production for the refinery has been approved, measures have been taken to ensure transparency of its transportation. The issue is under constant control of the Ministry of Energy and KazMunayGas