To support the goal of doubling agricultural output, efforts are underway to diversify crop cultivation. The focus is on reducing areas dedicated to monoculture crops like wheat and water-intensive crops such as rice and cotton, while promoting high-value crops, including oilseeds, vegetables, melons, and forage crops. Zhumangarin highlighted: “In 2024, 2.6 billion tenge was allocated for subsidizing oilseed crops. Akmola region – 400 million tenge, Zhambyl – 347 million tenge, Zhetysu – 262.5 million tenge, West Kazakhstan – 507.6 million tenge, Kostanay – 1 billion 142.3 million tenge.”
The government is implementing comprehensive support measures to encourage diversification. These include subsidies for seeds, fertilizers, and plant protection products, as well as financial assistance for crops delivered for processing. Investment subsidies are also available for purchasing agricultural machinery and equipment. Zhumangarin noted: “At the same time, the geographical distribution of large storage facilities does not always meet the needs of small agricultural producers, who have to bear significant transportation costs to store relatively small volumes. In this regard, the urgent task is to create small storage facilities located near production sites.”
To address storage challenges, subsidies cover up to 25% of the costs for constructing or upgrading facilities for oilseeds, including those with full technological cycles for reception, processing, cleaning, drying, storage, and shipment. Additional support includes preferential loans for working capital, a 70% VAT exemption on product sales, fuel allocations for drying units, and up to 30% reimbursement for mobile dryer purchases.
Zhumangarin concluded: “Implementation of the above measures will significantly reduce the logistics costs of farmers and provide the necessary infrastructure for storing agricultural products.” These initiatives aim to enhance efficiency, reduce costs for farmers, and strengthen Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector by improving access to storage and supporting diversified crop production.
