BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 19. Over the past three years, the sown area for vegetable crops has increased by 10,500 hectares, reaching a total of 169,700 hectares in Kazakhstan in 2022, the country's Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Karashukeyev said at a Government meeting, Trend reports.
According to the minister, the increase in cultivation areas includes a significant rise of 1,000 hectares for carrots, 2,100 hectares for cucumbers, and 4,500 hectares for onions.
"Moreover, the average yield of vegetable crops has shown remarkable improvement, rising from 260.5 c/ha in 2019 to 271.4 c/ha in 2022," he said.
Furthermore, the overall gross harvest of vegetable crops has experienced a substantial surge, with an increase of 653,000 tons, resulting in a total production of 4.8 million tons by the end of 2022. Notably, there has been a notable boost in the production of socially significant crops, with onions witnessing an additional 187,800 tons, carrots rising by 17,200 tons, cucumbers by 74,100 tons, and tomatoes by 10,700 tons.
"A similar situation is observed in potato production. Over the past three years, the sown area for potatoes has increased by 7,600 hectares, reaching 198,900 hectares in 2022. The yield has improved from 203.4 c/ha to 205.3 c/ha, and the gross harvest has increased by 168,400 tons, amounting to 4.1 million tons," the minister said.
In addition, he added that this year, vegetable crops cover an area of 173,500 hectares, while potatoes are planted on 197,600 hectares. According to the minister, the gross harvest of vegetable crops and potatoes is sufficient to meet the domestic market demands entirely.