Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 31
By Elena Kosolapova – Trend:
Agriculture should become one of the new drivers of the economy, said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in his annual address to the nation, which was published Jan. 31.
“Kazakhstan can become one of the world's largest producers and exporters of agricultural products,” he said. “In particular, Kazakhstan has considerable potential for production of ecologically clean foodstuff. The ‘Made in Kazakhstan’ brand should become a standard of such products.”
“I instruct to ensure the growth of food exports by 40 percent by 2021 through diversifying agricultural production,” said Nazarbayev.
To achieve these goals, he instructed the government and heads of local executive authorities to reconsider the principles of granting subsidies and to gradually start insurance of products.
He added that it is necessary to create conditions within 5 years for amalgamation of more than 500,000 households and small farms in cooperatives.
Nazarbayev also instructed to improve the processing of products, create an effective system of storage, transportation and sale of products, to improve labor productivity and reduce production costs, as well as to improve the efficiency of land use and increase investment in agricultural research.