Kazakhstan - Recognition for FAO report on the benefits of conservation agriculture
In the last five years there has been a 200 percent increase in the adoption of conservation agriculture/no-till (CA/NT) technology in Kazakhstan, which translates to nearly 2 million hectares. In 2012 the FAO Investment Centre, in cooperation with the World Bank, undertook the final evaluation (Implementation Completion Results Report) of the Kazakhstan Agriculture Competitiveness Project, whose objective was to increase the competitiveness of the agricultural sector through facilitating access to markets, improving relevance of applied agricultural research and increasing knowledge transfer to farmers. The specific findings regarding the adoption and impact of this technology in the country, which were presented in the form of an Information Note was also shared at a roundtable on 22 April 2013 at the World Bank in Washington, DC. The event, “No-Till: A Climate Smart Agriculture Solution for Kazakhstan”, will highlight the benefits of CA/NT technology in terms of raising domestic production and sequestering CO2.
The Information Note and the mission were also referenced in the article “Water-saving techniques salvage wheat in drought-stricken Kazakhstan” by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the CGIAR specialised network for research, development and training in maize and wheat. The article summarizes the benefits of no-till practices and conservation agriculture, which have raised domestic wheat production by nearly 2 million tons. This positive impact should be considered within the context of the country’s 2012 drought and heat, which resulted in a more than 50 percent decrease in production from 2011. Through the efforts of CIMMYT, FAO, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the World Bank, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Kazakh scientists, and in close collaboration with farmer unions, 13 percent of the wheat growing area practices conservation agriculture as opposed to nearly zero in 2000.
Click here to download / view the Information Note, "Advancement and impact of conservation agriculture/no-till technology adoption in Kazakhstan".
Click here to read the article, “Water-saving techniques salvage wheat in drought-stricken Kazakhstan” on the CIMMYT website.
Click here to read the World Bank article: No-Till: A Climate Smart Agriculture Solution for Kazakhstan.