Subsidies to Strengthen Agriculture

Making state subsidies available to more farmers in Kazakstan will help prevent an agricultural slump when the country joins the World Trade Organisation, WTO, according to NBCentralAsia analysts.



On February 14, the lower house of parliament changed Kazakstan’s agriculture regulations to make government subsidies available to more farmers.



Mihail Troshihin, a member of the parliamentary committee for agriculture, told NBCentralAsia that the amendments will expand production in high demand areas.



For example, seed subsidies that used to only cover top quality plants will now be available to farmers who want to grow lower grade varieties.



Troshihin points out that Kazak farmers receive very little state assistance compared with global trends and that production is high wherever subsidies are given.



One US dollar spent on Kazak agriculture brings back 13.5 dollars worth of produce - a higher yield than many developed countries - and extending farmers’ benefits should make Kazak agriculture more attractive to investors, he says.



NBCentralAsia analyst Eduard Poletaev adds that the law was amended in response to Kazakstan’s apprehension about entering the WTO.



Talks on Kazakstan’s entry have lasted ten years but are due to end later in the year. The country’s main concern has been whether domestic agriculture will suffer if Kazakstan has to open up to imports.



According to Poletaev, the amendments are in line with a general trend seen over the past few years, which has seen growing support for state agriculture with the aim of making the economy less dependent on energy exports.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)