Kazakhstan Launches Joint Agri-Tech Center with Russia

Kazakhstan produces millions of tons of grain but often struggles to compete in terms of quality. Russia has pledged to share its breeding and processing technologies to help improve domestic production, Orda.kz reports.

On April 2, the Kazakh-Russian Center for Advanced Technologies in the Agro-Industrial Complex opened in Almaty, following a directive from President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev.

The goal is to modernize agriculture through joint research and innovation.

Of course, everything that is best in Russia, everything will be transferred by specialists to scientists in Kazakhstan. This will be joint work in all areas. Everything that is open, created will be transferred, of course, said Pyotr Chekmarev, Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 

The initiative will focus on breeding, grain processing, and digital quality control tools. However, experts note that local challenges remain: outdated equipment, weak crop varieties, and insufficient mechanization.

The world’s population is growing... To ensure food security by 2050, production must rise by 50%," said Akhylbek Kurishbayev, President of Kazakhstan’s National Academy of Sciences. "We must solve this through innovation, mechanization, smart tech, and digitalization.

While the partnership looks promising, much depends on how quickly Kazakhstan's farmers can adapt — and whether Russia follows through on sharing its top technologies.

Original Author: Alina Pak