March 28, 2012

Kazakhstan eyes to halve wheat sowing areas by 2020 

By 2020, Kazakhstan is looking to cut the share of wheat sowing areas to the level of 52%, said Muslim Umiryaev, Vice Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on March 16.

The goal of the government is to provide the science-based progressive decline in the share of wheat sowings in the general structure of sowing areas, because to date the share of wheat sowings totals nearly 65%, said M. Umiryaev.

He also noted that the reduction in wheat sowing areas will be accompanied by the increase of sowing areas of feed grains, oilseeds, fodder crops, which will assist in increasing of their production, and most importantly - provide solution to the problem of ensuring the needs of the livestock industry, said the representative of the Ministry.

The Government plans to maximally optimise the sowing areas by 2020, explained Anna Buts, Director of the department of development of agriculture and phytosanitary security of the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to her, it is the scientifically recommended level, to ensure that the wheat sowings not be become monoculture, because it takes in some regions up to 80%, 69-75% of the grain sowing structure, said A.Buts.