At the Government conference call chaired by Prime Minister Askar Mamin, preparations for the spring field work were reviewed.
Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov informed about readiness of agrarians for the sowing works, Minister of Energy Nurlan Nogayev reported on the provision with fuel and lubricants, akims of Turkistan region Umirzak Shukeyev, Almaty region — Amandyk Batalov, Kostanay region — Arkhimed Mukhambetov reported on the situation in the regions.
This year, it is planned to sow 22.5 million ha of land, which is 238 thousand ha more than the level of 2019. Cereals will be planted on an area of about 15.2 million hectares (including wheat — 11.4 million hectares), oilseeds — 3 million hectares (+122 thousand hectares), cotton — 110 thousand hectares, sugar beets — 22 thousand hectares, melons and potatoes — 471.7 thousand hectares, forage crops — 3.7 million hectares.
For the spring field works, the required diesel fuel volume was determined — 387 thousand tons (the average price for agricultural producers is about 177 tenge / liter). There are 143 thousand tractors, 78 thousand seeders, 243 thousand tillage tools, 4 thousand sowing complexes in the republic. As of March 15, 2020, the readiness of tractors is 94%, seeders — 93%, sowing systems — 100%, tillage tools — 95%.
To support the agro-industrial complex of Agrarian Credit Corporation JSC, a budget loan of 70 billion tenge was allocated from the republican budget, which is 10 billion more than usual practice. The interest rate for end borrowers will not exceed 5% per annum. The allocated funds will make it possible to finance 2,400 agribusiness entities covering 3 million ha of cultivated areas.
“In general, preparation for spring work on fields is carried out in a timely manner. Government made all the necessary decisions on financial and material and technical support for spring sowing,” said Mamin.
The Head of Government noted the lag of some regions from seed harvesting plans (East Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Aktobe), preparation of agricultural equipment (West Kazakhstan, Akmola, Almaty, Kyzylorda) and the absence of approved standards in almost all regions (except Zhambyl and Turkistan) for fertilizer subsidies.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and akims of the regions in due time should take all the necessary measures for the quality of the spring field work. The Ministry of Energy will ensure the supply of the required amount of diesel fuel according to the approved schedule and prices,” said Mamin.
The prime minister instructed KazAgro NMH JSC to ensure the efficient use of financial resources and their accessibility to the farmers.
