Kazakhstan experiences a shortage of about 2 million tons of milk per year. To eliminate it, it is necessary to implement new dairy farm projects, and farmers will not be able to do this without credit support from state development institutions and government subsidies. This opinion was expressed by Ermek Abuov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Association of Farmers of Kazakhstan, KazInformation reports.

According to the deputy head of the farmers' association, despite the annual production of about 6 million tons of milk, there is still a shortage of milk in the country.

“According to the Ministry of Agriculture, it is planned to build 25 large dairy farms annually. This will increase production to 150,000 tons per year. But milk shortages are growing: as the population increases, so does the demand,” Abuov said.

To overcome the deficit, he said, it is necessary to increase milk production through the construction of dairy farms. But without government support this will be difficult to implement.

“Dairy farms have a continuous work cycle that requires a lot of input. Modern dairy farms are built with at least 400 head of cattle. Without investors, without the help of state development institutions of the KazAgro group, it is impossible to create a business. Projects cost billions – who has that kind of money?” - says the speaker.

According to Ranking.kz, investments in the agro-industrial complex have grown by an average of 26.8% annually over the past 5 years. In this regard, an important role is played by Agricultural Credit Corporation JSC, a subsidiary of National Management Holding KazAgro JSC. In 2020 alone, the Agrarian Credit Corporation financed 48 investment projects with a total value of 41.6 billion tenge. Of these, 15 worth more than 12.7 billion tenge are intended for dairy farms.

Ermek Abuov noted that the payback period for these projects is long – about 7 years. Therefore, farmers should obtain loans at low interest rates so that the annual payment does not become a burden. At the Agricultural Credit Corporation, loan rates for some programs start at 1.5% per year.

The result of financial support for cattle breeding farms is export to the domestic market.

The construction of a dairy farm helps improve life in the village. According to Abuov, dairy farms can provide jobs for villagers all year round. Villagers work 365 days a year, milking, feeding and caring for livestock every day.

“Why do young people leave?” Because there is no work. On farms that raise cattle, people work tirelessly all year round. People will not leave the country, the infrastructure will develop,” added the deputy head of the association.

https://qamshy.kz/article/61730-sarapshy-fermerler-ukimet-komeginsiz-investorsyz-sutti-tauarly-ferma...