There are about 4,500 agricultural cooperatives (SPKs) in Kazakhstan, yet their contribution to the total output of the agro-industrial complex remains insignificant. This was reported by Mazhilis deputy Nurzhan Ashimbetov.
According to Hronika.kz, he stated that Kazakhstan ranks among the world's top five in terms of the number of SPKs. However, as the deputy noted, a significant portion of these associations effectively do not fulfil their stated functions of joint economic activity and are created primarily to obtain preferential loans and subsidies.
Ashimbetov recalled that under the "Aul Amanaty" programme, microcredit is provided to citizens at 2.5% per annum for amounts up to 8 million tenge, and for cooperatives up to 30 million tenge. According to him, this has led to the formation of formal cooperatives, where several citizens unite on paper without conducting any substantial joint activity.
According to the deputy's data, last year SPKs accounted for only about 8% of the total agricultural output, whereas globally, cooperatives represent roughly 60% of agricultural production.
At the same time, he noted that there are examples of effectively functioning cooperatives in the country. In particular, in Pavlodar, a cooperative in the crop production sector unites 15 farms. This year, it received concessional financing and implemented projects for sunflower processing and restoring an elevator.
In the West Kazakhstan region, a cooperative in one of the rural districts signed agreements with oil-producing companies to supply meat and dairy products.
In the Akmola region, a fattening facility operates with processing and supplies of meat to Astana and for export, including to Qatar. This cooperative collaborates with small farms from several regions.
According to the deputy, amendments to legislation are currently being prepared to stimulate genuine cooperation. In particular, deputies propose revising the minimum share contribution, which currently stands at 2 MCI (7,864 tenge).
"Nowhere in the world are there such contributions. We ask the Ministry of Agriculture – why did you introduce this norm back then? They reply – because the peasants don't have money," the report states.
Nurzhan Ashimbetov has experience in various government positions, including serving as Akim of Petropavlovsk, Pavlodar, and Ekibastuz, Deputy Akim of the Pavlodar Region for Agriculture, and is also a member of the Mazhilis Committee on Agricultural Issues.