Over the past few years, the production of open-ground vegetables in our country has increased significantly, and therefore the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan believes that the construction of vegetable storage facilities in the coming years will have a positive effect on stabilizing prices for basic food products.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, global food prices have risen by 40%, the highest in a decade. In such conditions, inflation in the country for the first half of the year amounted to 7.9%. The most pressing problem was the rise in food prices. The pandemic has exposed the country's food security vulnerabilities.

Every year in Kazakhstan, vegetable and melon crops are sown on an area of ​​about 270 thousand hectares. Domestic farmers harvest 4.5 million tons of vegetables per year, which fully meets the needs of the domestic market. However, prices for vegetables are unstable: in the summer they drop sharply, and by autumn they soar. The reason for this is the lack of vegetable storage facilities in which products can be stored until spring, noted the Agrarian Credit Corporation.

“Criticism of the inability of the domestic agricultural industry to provide the domestic market with basic products is absolutely fair. In addition to production costs, seasonality and opaque intermediary arrangements are key pricing factors. The seasonality of supplies, as follows from the term itself, is absolutely expected, predictable, and therefore manageable,” said the Head of State. The solution to this issue lies in creating a modern and accessible infrastructure for storing products until the next season.

Previously, the Agrarian Credit Corporation financed projects in the West Kazakhstan region for the construction of two vegetable storage facilities with a capacity of 6 thousand tons. One of them was built in the peasant farm “Zhana Alem”, located in the Baiterek region.

The vegetable storage facility was built using modern technologies, using the latest cooling and ventilation equipment, a microclimate control system, etc. The design capacity of the storage facility is 3,200 tons. The demand for agricultural products is high, especially in winter. So far, the clients include Western Kazakhstan partners, but in the future the entrepreneur plans to enter farms from other regions.

As noted by the head of the Zhana Alem peasant farm, Anatoly Kan (pictured), today approximately 1,500 tons of vegetables are stored in the vegetable storage facility.

– Now the storage is mostly onions, and they sell them exclusively in our region. Although, there are offers from other regions. By the way, the storage facility has a unique flooring system, thanks to which products can be stored for a long time. We specialize mainly in onions, as well as borscht: beets, carrots, cabbage. We don’t plant potatoes, since this is a specific, voluminous crop, so you need an individual approach, - psays the head of the peasant farm.

Every year we sow melons on an area of ​​74 hectares, now we have a place to store our products,” he continues. In 2022, we sown 50 hectares of onions, 8 hectares of carrots, 8 hectares of beets and 8 hectares of cabbage. This year we harvested more than 3,000 tons of onions. Our vegetable storage facility was built and put into operation this year. The cost of the project is 355 million tenge. This is a specialized vegetable storage facility with floor ventilation equipment, which has no analogues in Kazakhstan. Long-term storage of vegetables is ensured by covering them with sandwich panels, the assembly and installation of which are very expensive. These are the panels that are installed in refrigerated storage facilities. They hold heat well and all the characteristics are an order of magnitude higher. The most important thing is that there is no freezing, cold and heat do not penetrate into the room. The storage technology is +2 – +3 degrees. Our ventilation equipment was delivered from Belarus, we are very pleased. All components are mainly from Europe, the company itself is very decent and works well. We have just put the premises into operation; we have not yet received subsidies, but we really count on them. Because the project is expensive, we received loans with the support of the Agricultural Credit Corporation.

According to Anatoly Kan, during the winter period, mainly local residents work, and for seasonal work they attract foreign workers according to a quota. In total, the staff employs 50 people.

– Since 2014, we have been working with the Stabilization Fund, and also sell products on the local market. Our main sales market is only our region. Although there are proposals in other areas, abroad, for example, even in Poland, which is the most profitable in terms of finances. Today the selling price of onions is 110 tenge. Regarding seeds, we work only with hybrid varieties, although this is not a cheap pleasure. There are European seed companies from which we purchase planting material, ” says A. Kan.

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan stated that large and medium-sized agricultural producers should be able to store their products. According to the roadmap for storing vegetables, agricultural producers have the opportunity to build vegetable storage facilities with the help of subsidies. The state covers from 30 to 50% of the construction cost. In the coming years, the department plans to build 87 fruit storage facilities. The total storage volume is about 350 thousand tons.

The Ministry of Agriculture is seeking to increase the production of vegetables and fruits through the introduction of new technologies, the development of nurseries, the use of high-quality seeds and seedlings, expanding the area of ​​irrigated land and the use of modern irrigation machines. Thanks to this, Kazakhstan has seen an annual increase in harvest volumes of within 5%.

According to preliminary data from akimats, there are 1,250 fruit, vegetable and potato storage facilities in the republic with a total capacity of just over 1.9 million tons. However, to store last year’s harvest of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions and beets (6.7 million tons), it is necessary to have storage facilities with a capacity of at least 2.8 million tons, that is, 1.5 times more.

To encourage entrepreneurs to build vegetable storage facilities, the department provides investment subsidies, as well as preferential lending under the “Economy of Simple Things” program.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture supports the Ministry of Trade and Integration in terms of the proposal to create a national commodity distribution network. The development of trade and logistics infrastructure by creating a network of wholesale distribution centers will eliminate unproductive intermediaries, provide farmers with direct access to trade networks and increase the sale of agricultural products both in the domestic market and in the export direction. This will also reduce farmers’ losses after harvest, which will have a positive impact on agricultural development.

But not only the technological features of storage are especially important, but the cost of the final product for the consumer. So that the price of domestic vegetables is stable throughout the year.

Alena Malikova

https://zhaikpress.kz/ru/news/mestnye-ovoshhi-kruglyj-god/