Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed that state support for farmers be tied to their adoption of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). The proposal was made during his speech at the country’s second Agricultural Workers Forum.
Tokayev noted that while many farms are already using innovations such as smart farming systems, agricultural drones, satellite monitoring, and AI, technological development at the national level remains uneven.
“We must move from isolated ‘smart’ solutions to full-scale digital agricultural production,” Tokayev stated. “Every farm should be incentivized to adopt digital technologies. State support should be directed toward those enterprises implementing innovations, including artificial intelligence.”
Tokayev also reported that preferential lending to the agricultural sector has exceeded $1.9 billion in 2025, ten times more than five years ago.
He stressed that the adoption of innovative technologies must extend beyond producers to include the regulatory authorities overseeing the agro-industrial sector.
“It is necessary to develop an effective system for tracking and controlling state grain reserves using digital technologies and AI tools,” he said. “This requires modernizing existing grain elevators and constructing new, modern facilities. In state-backed financing programs for private elevators, having electronic systems for grain intake and dispatch should be a mandatory requirement.”
Tokayev also highlighted persistent issues in agricultural data systems, which he described as fragmented and lacking integration. This, he said, results in policy decisions based on unreliable statistics. He called for comprehensive, objective data to be provided by the upcoming National Agricultural Census, which should serve as the foundation for updating digital infrastructure across the agro-industrial complex.
Previously, The Times of Central Asia reported that Kazakhstan achieved a record harvest this year of grains, oilseeds, and legumes.
