“Steel horses” transforming remote rural districts

Over 50bn tenge was invested in Karaganda oblast’s agriculture. What is the yield? What are the villages in for in the near future? Will rural life be as comfortable as urban? This was the food for thought at the workshop “Rural districts’ development” attended by the oblast governor, Serik Ahmetov.

Before the workshop officially started the leader of a farming partnership – LLP “Kainar” from Shcherbakovskoye, Nurinsk district, Saijapar Nygmetov showed to his colleagues his “steel horses” – 96 tractors, including 4 “John Deere” farming machines and 74 harvesters to sow and reap 33 891ha of grain area.

-The modern machinery makes harvesting fast and easy, it is important to purchase up-to-date seeders and harvesters to develop the agro-industrial complex, - Serik Ahmetov said.

A John Deere worth half a million US dollars is not affordable to every farmer, but there is light in the end of the tunnel - LLP “AgromashHolding RK” through JSC “KazAgroFinance” sells machines for farming on 4% 7-years credits. This year 35 harvesters and 40 tractors are to arrive in Karaganda oblast.

The powerful agricultural equipment enhances the labor productivity and thereby the living standards of the rural dwellers. How? Consider the same Shcherbakovskoye, whose dwellers got a new policlinic constructed by LLP “Kainar”. Last year a new sauna with a swimming pool was commissioned turn-key. The current year the LLP repaired the village’s culture center, which was hosting the workshop.

At it was aired the aforementioned figure – 50bn tenge from 2004 to 2010, the money went to the construction and repair of social and cultural facilities, roads, housing and municipal facilities.

And it improved the agricultural situation in the oblast in general – the number of populated settlements with a high development potential has grown from 10 to 108, the outlook is also promising – within the oblast program another 13bn tenge will be allocated in the coming 3 years.

-We see our villages developing. Recently there have been around 100 villages without running water, now - only 5, - Serik Ahmetov said.

Certainly not all the problems have been settled. For instance in the district in question – 40% of roads are in a bad condition. Although there is a special state program of housing construction for young specialists, it is not being properly performed. In 2010 181mn tenge was allocated from the republican budget for giving credits to young specialists coming to rural districts for work. The credits are given for 15 years at 0.01% - despite the wonderful terms the money is disbursed flabbily.

After the workshop its participants went to the fields. It is unthinkable to be in Nurinsk district without seeing the grain farm of LLP “Shahterskoye” led by an excellent specialist, Georgy Prokop. Over past 11 years the average yield in his LLP is 14.2centners per hectare that is almost twice the oblast index. This year Prokop is set to harvest 10 centners despite unfavorable weather conditions due to water-saving technologies.

Serik Ahmetov also believes the yield will be good, which means there will be bread, which is good news not only to farmers.

Natalia Ryzhkova

Karaganda oblast

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