ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting with the Deputy Director-General and Regional Representative of FAO for Europe and Central Asia, Viorel Gutu, where they discussed mutual cooperation for the development of agriculture and rural areas in Kazakhstan, Trend reports.
During the meeting, plans for the implementation of agreements reached between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the head of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Qu Dongyu, were emphasized. Attention was given to the implementation of joint projects within the framework of the Kazakhstan-FAO Partnership Program. The organization's portfolio in the country includes 55 projects.
"It is noteworthy that we are meeting after yesterday's important decision to establish the UN Sustainable Development Goals Center for Central Asian and Afghan countries in Almaty. We intend to actively develop the processing of agricultural products and increase the share of high-value-added products to 70 percent. In the next three years, we plan to implement more than 600 investment projects in the agro-industrial complex worth $4.8 billion. FAO is an important strategic partner in achieving these goals," emphasized Bektenov.
Gutu noted Kazakhstan's significant potential in the agro-industrial sector and stressed the importance of expanding cooperation for the sustainable development of rural areas.
“Kazakhstan is actively striving to develop agriculture by introducing innovative approaches and technologies, as well as improving access to financing and investments. In July 2018, Kazakhstan ratified the basic agreement between the Government of Kazakhstan and FAO. An integral part of this agreement is the ‘FAO-Kazakhstan Partnership Program’ (FKPP). The key areas of the FKPP, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, will include improving food security, digitalization of agribusiness, sustainable resource management, and the development of export potential, which will contribute to the sustainable growth of rural areas and the improvement of rural life,” said Gutu.
Additionally, the prospects of cooperation in the field of water resources were discussed. It was noted that Kazakhstan is implementing large-scale modernization of the water sector, including the construction of 20 new and reconstruction of at least 15 existing reservoirs, as well as the reconstruction and digitalization of more than 3,500 km of irrigation canals. Meeting participants emphasized that solving the environmental problem in the Caspian Sea should be a priority for long-term international cooperation.
As a result of the meeting, readiness to strengthen cooperation for the further development of mutually beneficial cooperation and successful implementation of joint initiatives was confirmed.
At present, Kazakhstan finds itself sitting pretty at 32nd place
out of 113 in the global food security index. Homegrown
agricultural products are shipped off to 80 countries far and wide.
Thanks to the steps taken last year to lend a helping hand to the
agro-industrial complex, gross agricultural production has shot up
by a whopping 13.7 percent.
The partnership between Kazakhstan and FAO has been constantly
evolving since the country became a member of the Organization in
1997. Kazakhstan has recently increased its emphasis on investments
in agriculture, forestry, and rural development and aims to
modernize the sector while transitioning to a green economy.
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