Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Chairman of the People's Government of the XUAR of the People's Republic of China Erkin Tuniyaz discussed issues of cooperation in the field of agriculture and the introduction of water-saving technologies that increase productivity in the industry from 30 to 70%, QazMonitor reports citing the press service of Prime Minister.
Goal: Water-saving technologies are planned to be implemented for up to 50% of irrigated lands in Kazakhstan. Today, the coverage is 16%.
“We have all the program documents to support and stimulate the implementation of water conservation in agriculture and industry. We are ready to work with business structures. The implementation of projects has begun in Almaty, Turkistan and Karagandy regions,”
Sharing expertise: The Chinese side proposed to consider the water conservation technologies offered by Xinjiang Tianye company, a prominent provider of comprehensive services in this field. The corporation is ranked among the 500 largest companies in China. Its representatives are ready to share their expertise, which enables farmers to harvest 500 kg of cotton and a ton of corn per 1 mu (roughly 0.07 hectares).
Serik Zhumangarin proposed to conduct joint scientific trials with the National Agrarian Science and Education Center (NASEC) on implementing water-saving technologies in Kazakhstan's southern regions with vast land areas.
Xinjiang Tianye proposed to establish production facilities and training centers within the country to educate farmers on the effective utilization of sprinkler equipment and drip irrigation techniques.
Green corridor: The parties discussed the progress towards establishing a "green corridor" to expedite the transportation of domestic agricultural goods across checkpoints and the introduction of standardized and uniform identification methods in the form of "green seals". Vice Minister of Agriculture Erbol Taszhurekov, emphasized Kazakhstan's endorsement of these mechanisms. The PRC provided instructions to standardize regulations for streamlined border control.
Exports: In 2023, the trade turnover of agricultural products between Kazakhstan and China increased by 1.7 times and exceeded $1.3 billion. The exports reached $1.01 billion, marking a rise of 184%. Imports from China totaled $290.2 million (+125%).