Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed to Rector of the Kazakh National Agrarian University (KazNAU) Tlektes Yesspolov the need to create a national science centre in the field of agriculture.
“It is necessary to increase the effectiveness of the introduction of research results and training of specialists. In addition, the production of competitive, export-oriented agricultural products should be increased,” Nazarbayev said during an Aug. 15 meeting with Yesspolov after receiving a report on the university’s activities.
Agriculture remains a key sector of the Kazakh economy. Kazakhstan’s steppes and multi-climate zones are ideal for growing wheat, barley, rice, corn, millet and buckwheat, which the country has been heavily exporting.
The Kazakh government has been attempting to stimulate the growth of the sector by providing loans to agricultural enterprises. The state subsidies have been used for equipment upgrades, construction, the development of the veterinary and phyto-sanitary sectors as well as for the industrial energy sector. The government has also lifted some import duties on farm equipment, raw material and spare parts and has introduced exemptions from corporate income and property taxes.
Yesspolov reported to the President that the university is currently conducting 50 scientific projects. He also reported that the university is part of 11 international consortiums and cooperates with the world’s best universities.
He also briefed the President on the university’s Agro-technological Hub, saying the “hub is designed to search for, attract and transfer new technologies, knowledge, start-up projects, as well as implement mechanisms of public-private partnership, self-financing and the autonomy of the university.”
