Kazakhstan plans to harvest a record-breaking 1.2 million tons of sugar beet this year, said Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov during an Oct. 14 meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The sides discussed the agricultural sector’s development results over the January-September period.
According to Saparov, 98% of the area has been harvested, and 25.2 million tons of grain have been threshed. The average yield was 15.5 centners per hectare. Farmers also expect a good harvest of forage crops.
Measures to improve financing for sowing and harvesting allowed for a threefold increase in allocated money to 580 billion tenge (US$1.2 billion) at 5% without subsidies to farmers. According to Saparov, in 2025, this amount is planned to be increased to 900 billion tenge (US$1.85 billion), including 200 billion tenge (US$411.7 million) for preferential leasing of agricultural machinery. Changes have been made to state support mechanisms for effectively using preferential loans and reducing corruption risks.
More than 796,000 tons of meat were produced between January and September, a 4.5% rise over the previous year. Milk output rose by 4.2% to 2.8 million tons.