Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted in his Address to the People of Kazakhstan today: "The Government must have a specific plan to transition to a progressive agro-economy," the APK News agency reports.
"The agricultural sector must be brought to a new level. In order to ensure a qualitative leap in the sector, the state has been carrying out systemic reforms and allocating significant funds in recent years. This year, a record one trillion tenge was allocated to support farmers. The necessary loans were issued in a timely manner. Our country has never seen such an unprecedented amount of financing before.
However, the measures taken are clearly insufficient for the full implementation of the significant potential of the domestic agro-industrial complex. The issue is not the amount of resources allocated, but their effective use. The Government must have a specific plan to transition to a progressive agro-economy," the Head of State said.
A number of large projects for deep processing of agricultural products are currently being implemented with the participation of Kazakh and foreign investors. Total investments exceed two billion dollars. Over three thousand jobs will be created. The products are export-oriented to various countries.
"Such projects need to be scaled up. In each region, given its specifics, it is important to form end-to-end chains from the manufacturer to the counter," K. Tokayev emphasized.
In many regions, there are vertically integrated agricultural enterprises that are well known to people. These enterprises are characterized by the widespread use of digital technologies that improve production efficiency.
"The success of leading agricultural producers is also due to the development of a full production cycle from growing agricultural products to their deep processing. Therefore, it is necessary to create systemic conditions for the dissemination of the experience of such agricultural holdings. This is the task of the relevant ministry and public associations. Such measures will create the basis for the wider use of innovations and scientific developments in agriculture," the President said.
The head of state also noted: "The key emphasis now needs to be placed on the development of agrohubs and logistics centers."
"The key focus now should be on the development of agrohubs and logistics centers, as well as on establishing strategic partnerships with foreign investors. However, to build productive investment interaction, domestic entrepreneurs need to know and understand modern business trends, use the latest technologies in their activities, including artificial intelligence.
The Ministry should also develop a plan to support agribusiness in the livestock sector and launch effective mechanisms for its financing. The goal is not only to fully provide the domestic market with meat, but also to strengthen export potential.
The strategic task of the Government is to reduce the dependence of the national food market on imports to a minimum. Of course, 100% self-sufficiency is impossible, and probably not necessary, but what is happening now in our market is a shameful situation.
In addition, traditional national products should be actively promoted to foreign markets. Therefore, a specific plan for agricultural exports is needed, taking into account logistics, veterinary and phytosanitary standards, as well as a competent marketing strategy. This is not the task of the Ministry of Agriculture alone, but of a number of government agencies, so coordination of actions at the level of the Government leadership is needed.
The Government is obliged to insist on fair conditions in the development of Eurasian trade, and deputies must protect the rights of domestic producers with legislative initiatives.
It turned out that our entrepreneurs do not receive the required amount of state support compared to enterprises in other EAEU countries, so they are at a disadvantage and are forced to cede even their market to competitors. In particular, we are talking about milk producers."
The President: "It is necessary to increase the efficiency of satellite monitoring of agricultural land using artificial intelligence."
"Land is certainly a strategic resource that should work for the development of the country and the well-being of all citizens. I have initiated large-scale work to seize unused and illegally obtained agricultural land with its subsequent redistribution. Land should not remain without an owner, land should be given only to those who understand its value.
In total, over 13.5 million hectares of agricultural land have been returned since 2022. However, only 6 million hectares of the returned land have been redistributed by akimats to new land users. It is obvious that previously unused agricultural land should become centers of production, investment and employment.
Therefore, the task of the akimats is to involve all returned agricultural lands in permanent circulation by mid-2026. This measure will also solve the problem of shortage of pastures.
In order to eradicate abuses and bureaucracy in land relations, it is necessary to radically change the mechanism for providing agricultural land. Decisions on land distribution should be made in digital format based on electronic competitions. The government must propose corresponding changes to the legislation by the end of the year.
In this area, it is especially important to make wider use of digital technologies. Even now, space monitoring and geoanalytics help to identify unused lands and return them to circulation. We need to move forward.
It is necessary to increase the efficiency of satellite monitoring of agricultural lands using artificial intelligence, on the basis of which in-depth analysis of land quality, crop yield, condition and distribution of agricultural crops should be carried out. By the way, this also applies to forestry. In the North Kazakhstan region, 9 thousand hectares of ownerless forest were discovered.
In addition, it is necessary to create a single digital map of land resources with the integration of cadastral data, information on subsoil use and infrastructure." Speaking about logistics, the Head of State emphasized: "Global competition for transit is intensifying."
"It is necessary to further develop the transport and logistics sector. As is known, our country is the most important link between Europe and Asia. Thus, last year the volume of cargo transportation through our territory exceeded 1 billion tons.
At the same time, there are significant reserves for expanding the country's transit potential. The North-South corridor opens direct access to the markets of the Persian Gulf and South Asia. And the East-West corridor and the global Chinese initiative "One Belt, One Road" strengthen the role of Kazakhstan as the main land bridge of Eurasia.
The development of the Trans-Caspian transport route is also of key importance for Kazakhstan. All these routes should work as a single system, bringing our country tangible income and new investments in infrastructure, as well as creating high-quality jobs. Digital solutions should be widely implemented, without which no efficiency can be achieved.
It is necessary to specifically address issues of regional transport connectivity. For Kazakhstan as a large transit territory, this area is of particular importance.
Recently, it was possible to send the first batch of grain to Vietnam through the Chinese port of Lianyungang, it is planned to build a railway along the Turgundi-Herat route in Afghanistan with the prospect of entering the Pakistani market. But the possibilities of opening new transport routes and new markets are not limited to this, there is a lot of work ahead.
At the same time, global competition for transit is intensifying, cheaper alternative directions and solutions are being proposed. To increase the volume of transit traffic, it is necessary to act proactively.
I would like to remind you once again that in order to modernize the infrastructure and ensure competitiveness in the transport and transit sector, it is necessary to fully utilize the capabilities of digital technologies and artificial intelligence.
The construction of the second railway line "Dostyk - Moiynty" with a length of 836 kilometers will be completed this year. This project, implemented by our own efforts in the shortest possible time, is of particular importance. It will significantly increase the capacity of the "East - West" route.
We cannot stop there. The Government should ensure the timely implementation of such projects as "Bakhty - Ayagoz", "Kyzylzhar - Moiynty". Their launch will complete the formation of the framework of the railway infrastructure."
The President instructed the Government and akimats to improve the quality of services for road carriers at the border.
"It is also necessary to develop highways within the key corridors.
Today, 13 thousand kilometers of roads are being built and repaired throughout the country. At the same time, priority attention must be given to transit corridors. It is necessary to accelerate the construction of the "Saksaul - Beineu" road, which will reduce the transit time from China to Europe through Kazakhstan by almost a third.
Along with this, a new model for managing the transport system should be built, in which it will pay for public investment.
A powerful impetus should be given to container shipping, the share of which in the country is still extremely low - only about 7%. For comparison, container shipping accounts for more than 16% of dry cargo in the world.
The government needs to adopt a special Program aimed at stimulating container shipping. It should also provide for effective measures to develop multimodal routes.
A rational, clear tariff policy plays a key role in increasing competitiveness and increasing domestic transportation. The existing tariff system is fragmented and not flexible enough.
The government should develop a competitive tariff policy by the end of this year, taking into account all types of transport.
Freight carriers have been complaining numerous times about the protracted nature of all processes. In fact, they have to process each service through different digital systems, and in some places even run around with papers the old-fashioned way. The lack of high-quality Internet access at some border and customs posts is even more outrageous. The situation needs to be urgently rectified.
I also instruct to speed up the implementation of a multifunctional digital platform for transport management using artificial intelligence.
A unified digital system of customs and logistics services Smart Cargo must be launched by the end of October. This system will provide private companies with equal automated access to infrastructure.
Work is underway to modernize border checkpoints. This year, 8 checkpoints will be fully operational. Another 34 checkpoints will be reconstructed in the next three years. This is a very large-scale and significant work, since many border checkpoints do not stand up to criticism, do not meet modern standards and negatively affect the image of our country.
I instruct the Government and akimats to improve the quality of services for road carriers at the border. Ensuring unimpeded transportation throughout the country is of great importance. It is necessary to create all the conditions for the transit of cargo transportation according to the "green corridor" principle.