From five Frances which could be placed on territory of Kazakhstan, only two are completely useful for agriculture. It’s quite enough too. However, colossal potential of agricultural sector of the country is not utilized in a proper way, but also decreasing step-by-step.
The main reason is not in global competition and lack of niches on international market – demand on potential products from the republic is absolutely sustainable. Everything goes up to political and economical models, which were established in the country. They can’t allow domestic agricultural business to adequately response on external and even internal market demands.
The topic of commodities is one of the sharpest in modern world. And let people eating to live but not living to eat, they have to feed after all; and full-blooded nutrition. Global summit on commodity safety will be held on 14 to16 of November in Rome, where heads of the states or agricultural ministers of UN nations would meet together. The goal of all previous summits was decreasing of numbers of starving by half in 2025. All this is reflected in Millennium Targets (Challenge of the Millennium), which were acknowledged by all UN member states.
The state of things for the moment is following: by official data of 1996 there were 450 million people starving and underfed in the world. In 2005 their numbers reached 800 million, which is almost twice. If to remember strikes of last year and the year before and marches of starving people all over the world, then it would be clear that food crisis is nowhere easier than energy, water of finance ones. Recent crisis’s as well not fastening, but only complicating solving of food crisis.
So, in 2009 the number of starving and underfed got over 1 billion people. But that’s not all. In modern times it is important not only to eat something, but eating quality products. The specifics of Kazakhstan are that with all nature given abilities it is able to wok on both export (millions of tons of crops, vegetables, milk and meat) and quality. Thus without unlimited concentration of chemistry and poisoning fertilizers, which is common sin of our eastern neighbours – Chinese.
However, all of this is from possibilities directory, which is never going into practical field. Vice versa, if suddenly China will start an embargo on food import in Kazakhstan; huge part of the nation of the republic would have feeding problems. Or, if to cut off the country from food imports also from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, then we would suffer from true massive starvation. Because our own food supply has been pushed to such condition that it can only supply bread in full scale.
Milk and milk products, juices, meat, vegetables, fruits, beans, sugar: almost everything which you could buy in a shop is imported. This problems has no single reason, it is complex. Common plant growing could give profit around 30% per cent, if a year was good. Else you could go in minus (, vermin). When you could afford *****, then growing plants would be safer and guaranteed. Intensive cattle-breeding gives even more economic effect. But all this figures are ridiculous comparing with profits level from selling oil.
Nevertheless, but entire population of Kazakhstan couldn’t be involved in mining of petrochemicals and metals. The more so that in one time almost half of the country’s people have been living in rural areas. The second factor is disability of state authorities’ machine to support interests of agricultural producers. While it demonstrated its effectiveness only in capacity to gain fat on intermediary services, whether it was crops purchase, fuel and lubricants supply, lease operations or transportation services. As the result, rural people are moving to cities to get work and salary, and agricultural territories potential is becoming extinct.
Meanwhile, today many things are not lost yet. In the first stance, it is production segment on non-polluted fields. To get certificate on commodities supply without chemical supplements in Germany or Spain, only organic and none mineral fertilizers can be used on the field. In Kazakhstan such lands could be amounted by hundred thousands of hectares. May the reason of this is that peasants have virtually no money on agricultural chemistry. The same could be said about berry production and fruit gardens, beekeeping farms.
The situation with cattle-breeding is more complicated, because vet control system in the country is completely destroyed. All in all, even cattle-breeding sector don’t need long money; even shorter for plant growing – to seed on spring, to get on autumn. In conditions of crisis and features of political system of Kazakhstan, when everybody are biased on short money (quick pass to profitability), agriculture is very suitable option.
In the meantime latifundists are pursuing their targets (and they making it best, whether it is crops, beet or cotton), and small and middle size farms couldn’t establish something weighty and able to protect their interests. They can’t establish even simple things, such as eggs supply (in volumes of solvent demand) from rural areas in nearest cities – all needs are covered by import. In such conditions more difficult problems (meat supply on Arabian states market – Halal, cannabis processing in Chu valley into fabric and insulating materials) become in difficult puzzle.
Agricultural production is very vulnerable virtually on every stage. From weather and rainfall to prices on fuel and railroad rates; and also by state bureaucracy and fiscal machines, which is aimed not on protection of agricultural makers from troubles (this is only a declaration), but on desire to illegally feed in account of agricultural industrial complex.
Actually there are successful enterprises in agricultural sector. They are profitable and employees have wideband networks in rural areas. On harvest season they employ specialists from cities to work on harvesters and tractors. However, all this examples are from “contrary” category. Such cases witnessing that even in such conditions you can be successful and profitable – lands and human resources are allowing. But at the moment we can only fall into modeling on how everything could be well developed if state machine would start to support rather than suppress, and make it competent. Generally, it is little required from the state on initial stage – to establish healthy and effective system, which simulate productive labour. Subsidies and subventions is the second stage, when struggle come to expand taken niches on market.
Meanwhile the state goes by easiest possible way. The question what to do in recession conditions in agricultural sector by 6%, it offers to increase land squares for long time rental for foreign makers. However, the easiest way nowise meaning that it is most correct. I’ve never heard that somebody reached strategic and long-time success by ignoring labour and harming makers. In such way the majority of Kazakhs will be rapidly transformed to another 20% of global starving instead of feeding themselves and help others.
BETTER.KZ
