BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 14
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
European Union (EU) may consider targeted support for Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector, Spokesperson from the European Commission told Trend.
The spokesperson said that given its Upper Middle Income Country status, Kazakhstan did not have a bilateral allocation for development assistance in 2014-2020. However, it benefited from thematic programs (such as Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities), as well as from all Central Asia regional programs in a variety of areas, such as governance, energy, environment/climate change/disaster risk management, trade and support to the private sector.
“Through regional programs like Central Asia Invest and its grant schemes for Business Intermediary Organisations, the regional Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Finance Facility implemented by the EBRD and the sub-grant schemes under the thematic program for Civil Society Organisation/Local Authorities, the EU has provided support to Kazakh Small and Medium Entreprises (SMEs) in rural areas,” the official said.
In the spokesperson’s words, this support included technical assistance to develop beneficiaries’ capacity to improve the efficiency of production (e.g. through the introduction of modern green-house technology) and to meet food safety requirements and market their products.
“In the future, under the Cooperation Facility for Kazakhstan and new and ongoing regional programs, targeted support for the agricultural sector, including at the policy level, may be considered, in particular in direct support of the population of Kazakhstan,” the official said.
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