At the Government session, Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov reported on the progress of spring fieldwork.

He noted that, according to regional akimats, the total sown area this year will amount to 23.7 million hectares, which is 413,000 hectares more than last year. In accordance with the instruction of the Head of State, systematic work is being carried out to diversify agricultural crops: over the past two years, the wheat planting area has been reduced by 750,000 hectares, while the area under forage and oilseed crops will reach 3.3 million hectares this year. For the first time, the sunflower planting area will amount to 1.4 million hectares.

"Grain and leguminous crops are planned to be planted on 16.6 million hectares. The cotton planting area will amount to 135,000 hectares, with traditionally cultivated areas reduced by 21,400 hectares to 85,000 hectares. At the same time, areas using drip irrigation will increase to 50,000 hectares due to a joint project between Turkistan SPC and the Chinese company Xinjiang Lihua," Aidarbek Saparov added.

According to the ministry, moisture closure has been fully completed. Pre-sowing soil treatment and spring plowing are nearing completion.

Proper and full execution of these activities helps mitigate the potential negative impacts of climatic factors at the early stages of the growing season.

As of today, mass sowing of spring crops has begun, with all regions participating. A total of 3.7 million hectares have been sown. The planting of cotton and sugar beet is nearing completion.

Regarding winter crops, for the 2025 harvest, winter grains were sown on 405,000 hectares. 74 percent of winter crops are in good condition, and 23 percent are in satisfactory condition.

Meanwhile, in the southern regions, early vegetable harvesting has started. In particular, 38,300 tons of cabbage have been harvested from 1,200 hectares in the Turkistan region.

This year, around 580,000 tons of early vegetables are expected to be harvested, which will meet domestic market demand during the off-season before the new harvest comes in.

"Thanks to the early start of financing, farmers were able to purchase essential resources — seeds, fertilizers, diesel fuel, machinery — in advance and at favorable prices. To date, 7,000 applications for spring fieldwork financing have been submitted, totaling 480 billion tenge, of which about 6,100 agricultural producers have already been funded for a total of 385 billion tenge," Aidarbek Saparov informed.

It was noted that eight socially entrepreneurial corporations (SPCs) are participating in preferential financing programs, with 131 billion tenge allocated to finance farmers.

Among them, Akmola, Kostanay, and North Kazakhstan regions are showing good performance in utilizing preferential funds through SPCs.

"I would also like to note that the implementation of preferential financing at the local level through SPCs is hindered by the excessive number of documents required from borrowers. The list can include up to 20 documents, and in some SPCs even up to 30. We ask the regional akimats to pay attention to this issue," Aidarbek Saparov emphasized.

To address the problem of insufficient collateral, a loan guarantee program covering 85 percent of the loan amount is being implemented. This year, 943 guarantees have already been issued for a total guaranteed amount of 135 billion tenge. The total amount of loans reached 159 billion tenge.

Around 6,000 units of domestically produced agricultural machinery will be acquired by farmers through 200 billion tenge in preferential leasing at an annual interest rate of 5 percent. As of today, the application pool comprises 3,200 applications totaling 120 billion tenge.

As part of the forward purchasing program, the Food Corporation has received applications from 191 agricultural producers totaling 17.7 billion tenge.

The Ministry of Energy has allocated 401,000 tons of subsidized diesel fuel for this year’s sowing campaign. Taking into account operator costs, the final price for agricultural producers is 254 tenge per liter, which is 15 percent below the market rate.

Currently, contracts have been signed and paid for 237,000 tons, and 218,000 tons have been delivered.

Agricultural enterprises are equipped with 139,000 tractors, around 5,600 high-performance seeding complexes, 71,000 seeders, and 141,000 soil cultivation tools. According to regional data, the readiness of machinery is around 99 percent.

The total seed requirement for spring sowing is 2.3 million tons. Of the tested seeds, 99 percent are deemed suitable and meet the standards of class 1 and 2.

To encourage the development of domestic seed production, amendments are being made to the subsidy rules, introducing a differentiated approach to seed cost reimbursement.

Last year, fertilizer application reached 1.3 million tons for the first time. This year’s target is set at 1.9 million tons, which accounts for 59 percent of the scientifically justified demand. To achieve this, the government has allocated an additional 48.4 billion tenge from the reserve to subsidize fertilizers.

According to operational data from the akimats, 991,000 tons of fertilizers have been contracted, of which 841,000 tons have already been delivered.

However, the minister noted that fertilizer application rates vary by region: while the North Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda, and Zhetysu regions are showing good delivery rates, the Akmola and Zhambyl regions are lagging behind.

"Akimats need to step up efforts in this area and keep fertilizer delivery under constant supervision. The government has taken all necessary measures: financing is secured, diesel fuel is subsidized, and quality seeds and fertilizers are provided. Currently, sowing is progressing at a good pace. It is important we maintain momentum and complete the sowing campaign within the optimal agronomic timelines," Aidarbek Saparov concluded.

#Agriculture #Government session #Spring field work

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