Starting from March 1, 2024, changes will take effect regarding the rules for investment subsidies, which will broaden access for farmers to state support. Specifically, subsidies will be reinstated for farmers who purchase imported agricultural machinery before May 25, 2024. They will be able to receive a 15% reimbursement on the costs of purchasing seed complexes, plows, harrows, cultivators, headers, balers, and other specialized equipment. Furthermore, the requirement to present an invoice will be waived if the machines were acquired through leasing.
To minimize crop losses, support for acquiring mobile grain dryers, drones for pest control, and fan sprayers has been introduced. Additionally, amendments have been made allowing agricultural entities receiving funding through agents to participate in subsidy programs.
“Currently, such programs are being implemented under the microcrediting rules in rural areas and small towns (the 'Aul Amanaty' program) and the crediting rules for agricultural projects (replicating the experience of the North Kazakhstan region),” the agency explained.
The list of subsidized equipment for milk processing will also be expanded: now, costs for acquiring lines for the production of powdered milk and whey can be reimbursed. In poultry farming, the reimbursement rate for creating and expanding breeding farms has increased from 25% to 40%. A similar measure has been introduced for the construction and modernization of chicken egg processing plants.
In previous years, farmers have repeatedly complained about the invasion of saiga antelopes. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, their numbers began to rise in 2022. Farmers state that the animals trample hayfields and consume grass, leading to crop losses. This results in million-dollar losses for farmers.
To address this issue, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed to cull saiga antelopes, but this was not supported by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the people of Kazakhstan. The head of state instructed the relevant ministry to develop an alternative mechanism for regulating the saiga population. At the beginning of 2023, an aerial count of saiga antelopes was initiated. By the end of the year, the international Red List reclassified saiga antelopes from the “high risk of extinction” category to the “least concern” category due to the increase in the species' population in Kazakhstan.