Kazakhstan recovers 11 million hectares of land

Tengrinews.kz - Over the past three years, Kazakhstan has reclaimed 11 million hectares of land, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov announced.
The Kazakh government held a meeting on July 8 to discuss the development of animal husbandry, veterinary oversight, and the digitalization of the agricultural sector. Following the meeting, the prime minister addressed the issue of state support for livestock farming. This year, 160 billion tenge from the state budget has been allocated for these purposes.

"Thanks to efforts to return unused agricultural land to the state land fund, since 2022 we’ve reclaimed 11 million hectares of pastureland. More than half of that has already been redistributed to the population," Bektenov said.

However, the prime minister noted that the country’s internal potential in this sector remains underutilized. At present, many processing enterprises are operating below capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to continue expanding the livestock population, prevent illegal exports, and maintain subsidies for breeding stock.

"The Ministry of Agriculture, together with regional akimats, must complete the forage harvesting campaign by October 1 to ensure livestock are adequately supplied during the winter," Bektenov instructed.

Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture and akimats have been tasked with verifying the national livestock database by November 1.

"All regions must have sufficient access to high-quality, affordable veterinary supplies. To ensure this, we must first support domestic producers. Delays or missed delivery deadlines are unacceptable," Bektenov emphasized.

He also instructed the ministry to explore new methods of concessional lending for livestock farming, specifically for the purchase of breeding stock, within the resources already available.