Minister highlights livestock as key driver of Kazakhstan's agricultural growth

Addressing representatives of the agricultural sector, Saparov said the industry faces ambitious targets this year.

"Agricultural output is expected to grow by 5.9% this year. We have all the necessary resources and opportunities to achieve this. It will also help fulfill the strategic goal set by the Head of State to double the country's gross agricultural output," Saparov said, outlining the Government's support measures for farmers.

According to him, more than 5,500 agricultural producers have already received 618 billion tenge in concessional financing for the spring fieldwork campaign.

The Government has approved a Comprehensive Livestock Development Plan to expand access to affordable concessional financing across the production chain. It also continues to offer the preferential lending programs Igilik and Bereke, alongside the Zhailau program for pasture-based livestock farming.

Saparov said expanding livestock production at large crop-growing farms represents an additional source of growth for the agricultural sector and urged producers to step up efforts in this area.

Farmers welcomed the Government's support measures, saying greater access to concessional financing, continued modernization of agricultural machinery and new lending programs for livestock farming were boosting production and creating jobs in rural areas.

Saparov also inspected a 2.8-billion-tenge vegetable storage facility being built by Oral Agro. The project will have a capacity of 12,000 tons and is scheduled to come online in September.

The minister also visited the KTK-888 dairy farm, which was commissioned in 2025. The farm has imported more than 400 head of cattle from the Aktobe region and Denmark, installed a modern milking parlor and is building a milk processing plant. Its herd is expected to grow to 1,000 head of high-yield cattle by the end of the year.

Saparov also visited Atamura Farm, where he was shown the Cropwise Operations digital platform used to manage production processes. Winter crop harvesting is already underway, with average yields of 49 centners per hectare.

Summing up the visit, Saparov instructed officials to ensure full readiness for the harvest campaign, strengthen phytosanitary and veterinary controls, and continue implementing investment projects aimed at improving the efficiency and competitiveness of Kazakhstan's agricultural sector.

"Today, the agricultural sector faces the task not only of increasing production volumes, but also of building a modern, high-tech and export-oriented industry. This is precisely what the Government's support measures and investment projects are designed to achieve," the minister said.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Friday had a meeting with Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov, during which he was briefed on the results of the development of the agro-industrial complex during the first half of 2026.