Agriculture sector in Kazakhstan:

Agriculture occupies nearly 10 percent of GDP in 2001. Kazakhstan is the sixth largest cereal producer in the world. The following grains are important in raising livestock. Agricultural land occupies 84.6 million acres. Of these, 20.5 acres are irrigated arable land and 61.1 acres of pasture and are the main animal products for which Kazakhstan is famous for dairy, leather, meat and wool. Kazakhstan is known for its animal wealth, especially sheep with excellent wool.

Kazakhstan has shifted from a country in its economy to livestock farming to wheat, cotton, barley, rice, tobacco, grapes, sugar beets and potatoes. Cereals are an important component of agriculture in the country, where Kazakhstan is one of the most important producers of wheat and the export of wheat is a source of hard currency and the value of Kazakhstan‘s wheat exports annually amounts to between 400-500 million dollars.

There was a decline in the growth of the agricultural sector in 2000, equivalent to 4.5–5% compared to last year, which may be due to the significant increase in 1999, when the growth rate of agricultural production was 121% compared to 1998. Despite the decline in agricultural production in 2000, the cereal sector has achieved a good harvest of 13 million tonnes.

The Law on Agriculture in force in Kazakhstan grants the following rights:

•   Property ownership (agricultural land and real estate)
•   The right to establish private farms.
• Protect private property from any unlawful expropriation.
• Freedom to choose the type of activity and agriculture operations.
• Equality in the process of access to markets, raw materials, information and finance.

Agricultural land in Kazakhstan is characterized by high terraces, which still require many investments.

The Government of Kazakhstan has undertaken several reforms to restructure the agricultural sector through the establishment of companies and privatization bodies. Private ownership is now prevalent.

Cereal crops 

Kazakhstan is one of the largest producers and exporters of cereals in the world, where the soil and climate match the production of many commodities including wheat, barley, rice, maize and buckwheat (animal feed).

Wheat is the main crop in cereals, and Kazakhstan produces high-level wheat that is highly protein-based.

The annual average of cereal crop exports from 1995-1998 is between 3-3.4 million tons, and the main consumer markets are the independent Commonwealth Republics, the Russian Federation, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. Kazakhstan is one of the few countries where the soil has many important elements, minerals and raw materials.

There is a strong trend to export grain from Kazakhstan to many other world markets, including Australia, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Turkey, Poland, Estonia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Korea and Mongolia.

Industrial crops (which can be built by industry)

Kazakhstan is producing some of the crops it uses in some of the industries that have been established, the most important of which are beet, cotton and oil crops. Cotton is one of the most important crops on which the industry is based in Pakistan and is cultivated in irrigated lands in southern Kazakhstan, and the oil plants grown in Kazakhstan are sunflower, soybeans, flax and mustard.