Chairman of the Board of NJSC "NANOTS" Baurzhan Kasenov spoke about the prospects for the development of selection and seed production in the Republic of Kazakhstan in his speech at the 3rd Kazakhstan Conference-Contract "SEED DAY "TUKYM-2024".
An analysis of the seed industry shows that the volume of seeds needed to meet the needs of agricultural enterprises and farmers is about 2.5 million tons.
The seed industry today faces many problems that seriously affect its efficiency and development. One of the main problems is import dependence on varieties of foreign selection. Kazakhstan today depends largely on imports for the following crops: lentils - 99.5%, sugar beets - 98%, rapeseed - 90.9%, peas - 90.4%, corn - 81%, sunflowers - 77%, potatoes - 82%. This is a serious limitation for the industry, as it implies high import costs and unwanted dependence on foreign manufacturers.
Another problem facing the seed industry is the deterioration of breeding and seed-growing equipment.
It is important to update seed cleaning equipment to reduce seed injury and improve the quality of seed. At the same time, every effort should be made to develop domestic selection and reduce dependence on imports. The support and development of local breeders will create competitive varieties, as well as reduce import costs.
In world practice, elite and 1st reproduction class seeds are mainly used for sowing. In Kazakhstan, the areas allocated for agricultural crops are distributed as follows: elite seeds account for 7.0% of the land, seeds of the 1st reproduction - 17.1%. Seeds of the 2nd and 3rd reproduction occupy 32.3% and 31.5%, respectively, while seeds of mass reproduction occupy more than 10% of the area.
In Kazakhstan, the share of used varieties included in the State Register over 10 years ago reaches 57-85%. Their sowing area is: wheat - 69%, barley - 90%, corn - 98%, oilseeds - 85%, fodder - 95% (in world practice, variety rotation is from 4 to 7 years).
Over 397 seed production entities are involved in Kazakhstan, including:
originators - 38 (subsidiaries of NANOC - 18), elite seed farms - 104 (BEFORE NANOC - 16), seed farms - 159 (BEFORE NANOC - 12), seed distributors - 124.
More than 120 thousand agricultural enterprises are engaged in the production of crop products.
During 2022, agricultural producers produced 475 thousand tons of seeds of all categories, which is 19% of the total required volume of 2.5 million tons. Including seeds produced by the NANOC group of companies - 44 thousand tons, which is 1.76%.
Seeds of varieties of domestic selection occupy a share of arable land of 51.6%. At the same time, there are factors that negatively affect the development of domestic seed production.
Firstly, the share of varieties of domestic selection is low; in the event of a collapse, there are risks of seed shortage.
The second problem is the shortage of qualified personnel in this area - there is practically no influx of young personnel into the breeding and seed production system, the average age of breeders is 61 years.
The third problem is the insufficiently high level of material and technical equipment of seed farms, which negatively affects the quality of seeds.
The fourth problem is that domestic seed producers operate under unequal conditions compared to foreign competitors.
Weak control over produced and imported seeds in Kazakhstan is the fifth significant obstacle to the development of seed production in the country.
And finally, the sixth problem is the lack of a seed insurance fund, where for the super elite its size is only 50% of the required volume.
In general, all these problems require serious attention and further efforts to develop domestic seed production and ensure its effective operation.
The first step towards achieving these goals is to establish partnerships with leaders of the Russian Federation and non-CIS countries to create and produce new varieties of agricultural crops. The second stage is the gradual replacement of imports with competitive varieties of agricultural crops and the formation of a market and seed circulation mechanisms. The third step is to carry out technological modernization of the base of seed production entities. The fourth step in this process is the use of biotechnology and genetic engineering methods of accelerated selection. The fifth step involves introducing changes and additions to the regulations on seed production, the rules of lending and subsidies, as well as the establishment of barriers to the sowing of non-zoned agricultural crops and varieties. The sixth step is the creation of a domestic seed movement traceability system (electronic seed production). The seventh step is mandatory annual crop insurance. And finally, the eighth step is to create a seed insurance fund.
The current seed production scheme in Kazakhstan does not work properly due to the fact that the seed production scheme is broken, there is no traceability of seeds and there are facts when seed farms, in the absence of purchasing original seeds for a long time, produce an unreasonable amount of elite and reproductive seeds.
For example, let’s say that in some large grain-growing regions of the Kostanay region, such as Karksu and Sarykol districts, despite significant areas, they do not have a single seed farm. In our opinion, this is due to the lack of economic motivation on the part of agricultural producers to obtain the appropriate status and sell seeds on the fields.
In the republic, 27 breeding institutions are engaged in the selection of agricultural crops, including 18 organizations that belong to the subsidiaries of NANOC. In the above institutions, 51 breeders are engaged in breeding varieties.
Over five years, breeding institutions in Kazakhstan have bred 97 varieties of grain crops, incl. 28 wheat varieties that, according to the results of state variety testing, showed their high productivity and economically valuable traits were included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements recommended in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Of particular note are such highly effective new varieties of domestic wheat selection as:
- “Aina”, developed by Karabalyk Agricultural Experimental Station LLP;
- "Tabys 60" selection of the Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Plant Growing LLP together with the Children's State Budgetary Institution "Institute of Biology and Biotechnology";
- “Solnechnaya” selection of LLP “Experimental Farm of Oilseed Crops”, and many others.
As a result of variety testing, varieties of domestic selection are not inferior to varieties of foreign selection, since our breeding institutions have a good base of genetic resources and experienced breeders.
Using the example of Barayev Research and Production Center, we want to show how we plan to build a system of interaction between the Research Institute-SHOS-SKhTP, where research work, testing and localization of developments in SKhOS, and the introduction of the best achievements of agroscience in SKhTP will be clearly organized.
In order to develop primary seed production on the basis of the experimental stations of NANOC, we carried out an analysis of the sown areas of agricultural crops in the republic.
It should be noted that 56% of the area in the republic is occupied by wheat varieties of NANOC subsidiaries (in Karaganda - 99% of the total area of the region, in Akmola - 82%, in Kostanay - 42%, in North Kazakhstan region - 36%). The main varieties sown up to 10 years are Fantasia, Karabalykskaya - 20, Aina, Karaganda - 31.
A fascinating experience is the experiment conducted at the Karabalyk agricultural plant in the period from 2018 to 2023. Through the use of selection and seed production methods and internal features, it was possible to increase seed production by 3.3 times - from 5 thousand tons to 11.5 thousand tons. This was made possible thanks to the introduction of new varieties that were added to the farm's collection. Varieties such as Aina, Fantasia, Medikum 18 and Velikan are especially in demand in the northern regions of Kazakhstan due to their high adaptability.
Along with the agricultural production systems, leading elite seed farms in 9 regions with different climatic zones will be connected in order to select the most suitable varieties that will be tested on site.
For example, varieties of NPC Barayev, Karabalyk, Karaganda, Pavlodar Agricultural Economy in the amount of 40-50 varieties will be sown simultaneously in different ecological zones by scientists of subsidiary organizations of NANOC and during the growing season, by observing and harvesting, results will be obtained and recommendations will be given on suitable varieties in these regions.