Government to allocate 700bn tenge for spring-sowing campaign in 2026

According to the minister, the total sown area this year will make around 23.8 million hectares, exceeding last year’s level by 180,000 hectares.

Priority will be given to highly profitable crops, with expanded areas for oilseeds (+55,000 ha), fodder crops (+242,000 ha), barley (+94,000 ha), and potatoes in organized farms (+10,300 ha).

At the same time, wheat acreage will be reduced by 125,000 hectares to 12.1 million hectares.

“We have revised diversification indicators for corn and plan to significantly expand its sown area, including in northern regions,” noted Aidarbek Saparov.

Overall, corn acreage this year is expected to reach 265,000 hectares, 90,000 more than last year.

In southern regions, efforts are underway to optimize sown areas for water-intensive crops such as rice and cotton.

In line with water-use limits, rice acreage has been reduced by 20,200 hectares. Cotton acreage will total 162,400 hectares, with drip irrigation areas increasing by 29,800 hectares and traditional irrigation areas decreasing by 12,000 hectares.

The minister also reported that 700 billion tenge had been allocated for concessional lending of spring field work and harvesting campaign this year.

In his words, around 1,900 agricultural producers have already been financed for a total of 200 billion tenge, or about 27% of the overall funding volume. This is 17% more than in 2025.

Earlier, Qazinform reported that the Government of Kazakhstan had allocated 1.1bn tenge for Caspian Sea research and preservation.