Kazakhstan intends to reduce dependence on imported sugar by increasing its domestic production. To this end, the country has approved a comprehensive five-year plan. Its implementation starts this year. A total of 33 activities are planned to be carried out. This was announced by the country’s Vice Minister of Agriculture Rustem Kurmanov at an expanded meeting of the ministry board. According to him, investment attraction is one of the key tasks to ensure food security in the country. This work is carried out in all regions where roadmaps for implementing investment projects in the agro-industrial complex were signed. For instance, 270 such facilities worth over 240 billion tenge were commissioned in 2022. Overall, based on last year's results, the volume of investment in fixed capital in the agricultural sector increased by almost seven percent to 853.5 billion tenge.
“I would like to particularly note the positive experience of the North Kazakhstan region in financing large and highly productive investment projects in the agricultural sector through the Social and Entrepreneurial Corporation. Due to this mechanism, 21 commercial dairy farms were built there within two years. As a result, the North Kazakhstan region now produces about 648,000 tonnes of milk, or 10.3 percent of the total milk production of the country. Therefore, northern Kazakhstan has made a qualitative leap in milk production. Thus, if we replicate that experience in the industrial production of other essential food products, we will have a real opportunity to provide the domestic market with dairy products and poultry meat, as well as seasonal vegetables and fruits,” Kurmanov said.
The Agriculture Ministry emphasized that Kazakhstan moved up nine spots in the Global Food Security Index by the end of last year. The country ranked 32nd out of 113 states. It bears noting that this rating evaluates indicators such as affordability, quality and safety of products, and others.
