Providing food to the population of Kazakhstan: priorities, mechanisms

Abstract

Goal - the current state and problems of development of agriculture in Kazakhstan are considered - basics of providing food to the population of the republic and development of recommendations for improving agricultural policy. Methods – systematic approach, abstract-logical, monographic, economic-statistical. Results - the authors note that the Republic of Kazakhstan ranks 32nd in the Global Food Security Index for 2022. The country has sufficient natural resources to strengthen agri-food sector, and there is the necessary level of physical availability of food products. At the same time, the share of consumer spending on food products exceeds 50%, which indicates a relatively low degree of economic accessibility of food products. The republic is directly dependent on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, seafood, vegetable oils, sugar and chocolate. Dairy products are uncompetitive in comparison with similar Russian and Belarusian products, which leads to significant volumes of imports. Positive results of the functioning of agro-industrial complex of Kazakhstan include exceeding gross grain harvest of the threshold level of food self-sufficiency. Conclusions – recommendations prepared as part of the study are aimed at further spreading agricultural cooperation in livestock and crop production, implementing the import substitution policy in agricultural sector, increasing profitability of small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, improving domestic technological and resource base, and living conditions in rural areas. Improving food security will be possible if there are effective measures of support from the state for agricultural producers, which implies necessary level of subsidies, reimbursement of capital costs, preferential lending, and provision of targeted financial assistance.