Agriculture in Kazakhstan

Agriculture in Kazakhstan remains a small scale sector of Kazakhstan's economy. Compared to North America, a relatively small percentage of land is used for crops, with the percentage being higher in the north of the country. 70% of the agricultural land is permanent pastureland. Kazakhstan’s largest crop is wheat, which it exports. It ranks as the sixth largest wheat producer in the world.  Animals raised in Kazakhstan include chickens, sheep, pigs, horses and goats (in descending order of numbers). Meat production in tons was highest in cows, pork, mutton (meat), chicken, and "other meat." Wool, cow milk, and eggs are the other major animal products of the country. Kazakhstan has the largest wolf population of any nation in the world, with about 90,000.

The cultivation of wheat has also contributed to environmental issues, starting with the Virgin Lands Campaign during the Soviet era. Because the precautionary measures taken to preserve soil quality when the campaign began were insufficient, the soil eroded and its nutrients became degraded by excessive mono-crop cultivation. This history continues to impact grain production today, particularly in Kazakhstan.

Aside from these two primary crops, the region produces a wide variety of products which include barley, corn, flax, grapes, potatoes, rice, sugar beets, sunflowers, tobacco, apricots, pears,plums, apples, cherries, pomegranates, melons, dates, figs, sesame, pistachios, and nuts.

Animal husbandry constitutes a large part of Central Asian agriculture. Cattle, sheep, and poultry are the main animal species in agriculture, and breeding race horses is the pride of Turkmenistan. Some famous local breeds include the Karakul sheep and the Akhal-Teke horse. Some regions also cultivate mulberry trees and breed silkworms.

Text №6 Kazakhstan Wheat Production: An Overview

Main Production Region Kazakhstan's three north-central oblasts, Kostanai, North Kazakhstan, and Akmola, account for about 70 percent of the country's total wheat output.  Spring wheat comprises nearly 90 percent of the grain area in these oblasts.  Minor grains include spring barley and oats.  (About 0.6 million hectares of winter wheat are grown in southern Kazakhstan.)   

Because of Kazakhstan's dry climate, wheat quality is relatively high, and quality tends to be even higher in a drought year.  In 2003, for example, weather was favorable, yield was near average, and about 75 percent of the wheat was classified as Grades 1 through 3.  The 2004 growing season was marked by persistent drought in key growing regions.  Yield fell to a 6-year low but almost 90 percent of the wheat was classified as Grades 1 through 3.  (Grades 1 and 2 are referred to as strong and Grade 3 as valuable.  All three are considered milling quality.  Grades 4 and 5 are weak and used for feed grain or alcohol production).  

Kazakhstan exports an average of 4 million tons of wheat per year.  Chief destinations include Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, neighboring Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan), and Iran.  The level of exports can fluctuate significantly from year to year, depending on the size of the Kazakhstan crop and the harvests of the traditional importing countries, especially Russia and Ukraine.   

Prior to the early 1990's, durum wheat comprised roughly 10 percent of total wheat production in Kazakhstan -- nearly 2 million tons in a good year.  Declining demand forced a gradual reduction in area, and durum is now produced by only a few companies, largely for macaroni production.  Output has declined to less than 100,000 tons and is unlikely to increase in the near future.

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Crop Rotations Kazakhstan farmers use a limited variety of crop rotations, or field rotations, usually featuring two consecutive years of wheat followed by one or two years of spring barley or oats, and one year of "clean fallow" during which no crop is sown. A seven-year rotation would likely include an additional year of wheat and an additional year of barley or oats. Some rotations may incorporate four consecutive years of wheat. The length and sequence of the rotation may vary, but the selection of crops is fairly limited. Some researchers question the value of including a fallow slot in the rotation. Most farm directors continue to include a fallow year, however, claiming that the subsequent wheat crop benefits from increased subsurface moisture.

Planting and Harvest Dates Spring grain planting typically begins in May. Of the spring grains, oats are sown first, followed by wheat, then barley. Planting typically is finished by early June. The crop advances through the reproductive stage during mid-July, when temperatures climb to their highest levels and grains are most vulnerable to heat stress. Barley is the first of the major grains to be harvested.  Harvest begins in late August and continues through October.

Two-Stage Harvesting In Soviet times, farmers traditionally used a two-stage harvest method in years of high June and July precipitation (which can result in late tillering and uneven maturity) or high yield potential. With this method, grains are cut, without being threshed, and allowed to lie in windrows for several days. This enables the less ripe grain to dry somewhat prior to threshing. After drying in the windrows, the combine makes a second trip over the field and the grain is threshed. Some producers suggest that two-stage harvesting also results in less grain loss induced by shattering. Two-stage harvesting has become less popular in recent years, however, due chiefly to the high cost of fuel.  

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