The soil in Western Kazakhstan is getting poorer every year: it has less and less necessary organic matter and, as a result, crop yields are decreasing. In connection with this current issue, the Ministry of Agriculture of RK has decided to subsidize fertilizers.

Zhangir Khan West Kazakhstan Agrarian and Technical University is a subsidiary of the “National Agrarian Science and Educational Center” JSC and at present soil surveys of Aktobe, Atyrau and West Kazakhstan regions are being carried out by employees of an accredited laboratory at the university. Specialists who are engaged in field, analytical and desk work also provide consulting services to farmers in the region.

“In recent years, soil fertility has been gradually declining. The main reason is that farmers do not make mineral and organic fertilizers. Due to insufficient funding for soil surveys, arable land is being examined, but pasture and hayfields are not being fully examined,” said Associate Professor, Ph.D, the head of the high school of Soil Science, agricultural chemistry and land use at the Zhangir Khan University Saule Rakhimgaliyeva.

“Very often it is necessary to observe the consumer attitude on the part of farmers seeking to squeeze out all the nutrients from the soil. They don’t understand that this is an eternal resource that should serve future generations, which means that we need to take care of its condition in present time,” said Saule Rakhimgaliyeva.

     In order to make full use of the agrarian potential of the region, it is necessary to take care of the land, increase its fertility, use new agricultural technologies and organic fertilizers. The website of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan has the entire package of documents on subsidizing fertilizers - the “AgroConsultant” Precision farming recommendations service.