Green technologies in the development of the agro-industrial complex - a new hydroponic technology for year-round fodder cultivation is used in Mangistau region. Issatai Saktaganov built a special workshop and installed racks there. The soaked barley grain rises to ready shoots in a couple of days there. The irrigation system works automatically twice a day and maintains a special microclimate. According to the farmer, green fodder grown in hydroponic plants has a positive effect on product quality.
“Up to 40 kilograms of grass sprouts in three days. I plant 400 kilograms, of which four tonnes of grass grow in a month. We plan to raise ducks, geese and turkeys. They are unpretentious, they do not need much grass,” the farmer said.
Another hydroponic greenhouse grows tomatoes using Turkish technology. The first 150 kilograms were ripe in just three months, farmers say. In the near future, they plan to build two more greenhouses in which they will grow cucumbers and dill.
“We sent our products for a special examination. According to its results, our tomatoes are 100-percent pure products. It is our achievement. We can harvest 150 to 160 tonnes of tomatoes here all year round,” agronomist Amangul Uzakbayeva noted.
“Last year, 18 farms received subsidies for saltpeter, and three for water. The products of these greenhouses and gardens can be found on the shelves of local stores. Prices are lower than in Aktau. There is no longer a need to go to the city for tomatoes, because it is much more worthwhile to buy greenhouse vegetables,” added Oryngali Kuzembayev, Head of the Agriculture Department of Mangystau District .
Last year alone, local farms received over 160 million tenge (US$320,641) of subsidies. With these funds, farmers and agriculturists purchased equipment and mineral fertilizers.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
