Mass harvesting has begun in all
regions of Kazakhstan, Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Karashukeyev said at a
government meeting. According to him, 2.4 million hectares of grain and
leguminous crops have been harvested to date. The average yield stands at 11.5
centners per hectare, he said. As a result, 2.8 million tonnes of grain were
milled. This year, the total harvested area of agricultural crops is expected
to reach 24 million hectares. Of these, more than 17 million are grain
harvesting areas.
“In terms of crops, including socially important ones, the
wheat harvesting area amounts to 13.7 million hectares, of which 1.5 million
hectares have been harvested with a yield of 11.8 centners per hectare. A total
of 1.8 million tonnes of grain were milled. 34,000 hectares of oilseeds have
been harvested with a yield of 6.9 centners per hectare, while 2.8 million more
hectares are to be harvested. 458,000 tonnes of potatoes have been harvested
with a yield of 208.9 centners per hectare, and another 188,300 hectares will
be necessary to harvest. The total vegetable harvesting area is 164,800
hectares,” Karashukeyev said.
The minister assured that this
year’s harvest will cover the needs of the domestic market, whereas surplus
products will be exported. He noted that some farmers faced the problem of
drought this year. They will have their expenses covered, loans extended, and
subsidies paid as soon as possible. These and other assistance measures were
outlined by Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister.
“We all know that the summer was dry, and a number of regions have been affected. There will be less crops to harvest. Several actions were taken rapidly to mitigate the effects of drought, including funds allocated from the government’s reserve. The Baiterek national holding company should work out the issue of prolonging and restructuring debts on loans to the farmers affected by drought. In general, the situation is under control. The harvest is definitely enough,” Alikhan Smailov noted.
