As of December 1, 2023, 2.05 million tons of seeds were planted in the country for the 2024 harvest. The total requirement is 2.38 million tons. That is, the need for sowing next season is 86% covered. This was announced by Murat Irgibaev, Director of the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, speaking at the Seed Day “Tukym 2024”.
The 2023 harvest took place under difficult conditions, as it rained for four weeks in August and September, interrupting field work. This led to the germination of a large proportion of wheat, according to experts, up to 50% of the 11.5 million tons of the total harvest. The germination of seeds on many farms was seriously affected.
“To solve this problem, a seed fund of the Food Corporation has been formed in the amount of 402 thousand tons of commercial grain suitable for seed purposes. It will be used only as a last resort, if there is a shortage of seeds,” said Murat Irgibaev.
Among other measures aimed at helping farmers provide seeds, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan plans to consider the issue of tax breaks on imported seeds. It is also possible to increase the share of subsidizing the sown area from 15 to 25% for elite seeds, and for first reproduction seeds - from 20 to 35%.
It should be noted that the share of elite seeds used by farmers in Kazakhstan has increased over the past seven years from 5.2% to 7.1% (1.4 times).