Kazakhstan begins mass sowing campaign across grain-growing regions

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Over 3.7 Million Hectares Already Sown as of May 13

Kazakhstan has launched a large-scale spring sowing campaign across its key grain-producing regions, with 3.7 million hectares of land already sown as of the morning of May 13, 2025. This was announced by the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aidarbek Saparov, during a recent government meeting.

In his report, Minister Saparov highlighted that sowing operations in the country’s southern regions are nearing completion. Cotton and sugar beet sowing are nearly finalized, with 94.7% and 93.4% of their respective targeted areas already sown.

Looking ahead to the 2025 harvest, Kazakhstan has planted winter grain crops on 405.7 thousand hectares. Of these, 74% are reported to be in good condition, 23% in satisfactory condition, and only 3% (12.3 thousand hectares) are in poor condition.

According to regional authorities (akimats), the total sown area across Kazakhstan this year will reach 23.7 million hectares, marking an increase of 413 thousand hectares compared to 2024.

Minister Saparov also outlined ongoing efforts to diversify agricultural production. Over the past two years, Kazakhstan has reduced its wheat cultivation area by 750 thousand hectares. In contrast, the area dedicated to forage and oilseed crops is set to reach 3.3 million hectares. Notably, the area for sunflower cultivation will hit a record 1.4 million hectares this year. In total, grain and leguminous crops are expected to cover 16.6 million hectares.

Cotton production is also seeing structural changes. While the total area allocated for cotton cultivation this year will be 135 thousand hectares, the area cultivated using traditional methods will decrease by 21.4 thousand hectares to 85 thousand hectares. Meanwhile, the area utilizing drip irrigation will expand significantly to 50 thousand hectares, thanks to a joint project between the Turkestan Social-Entrepreneurial Corporation (SPK Turkestan) and Chinese partner Xinjiang Lihua. Just two years ago, only 2 thousand hectares of cotton were irrigated using this water-efficient technology.

In the Kyzylorda region, the rice cultivation area will be reduced by 4.7 thousand hectares to 80.9 thousand hectares. Additionally, water-saving technologies are being introduced on 9.2 thousand hectares of land, and laser leveling techniques are being applied across 60 thousand hectares to improve water use efficiency.

These developments underscore Kazakhstan’s strategic shift toward crop diversification, sustainable irrigation, and more efficient agricultural practices amid growing environmental and water resource concerns.