The QazGarden investment project is being implemented in the Ordabasi district of the Turkestan region to establish an intensive apple orchard and plant stone fruit and berry crops. The initiator is the agricultural cooperative of the same name, the correspondent of the Kapital Business information Centre reports with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture.
"The volume of investments in the project amounted to 700 million tenge, and the current value of the company's assets is estimated at two billion tenge," the Ministry of Agriculture reported.
The project provides for the phased laying of 240 hectares of gardens. To date, 60 hectares have already been developed, including 11 hectares of intensive apple orchard, 49 hectares of apricot, peach, nectarine, and plum plantations. To implement the project in 2020, high quality fruit tree seedlings from Turkiye were purchased, a modern drip irrigation system was installed, as well as a hail protection garden net.
In total, more than 70 thousand seedlings have been planted. The company is equipped with specialised agricultural machinery, including tractors, sprayers, mini loaders, and other equipment.
Earlier it was reported that the gross harvest of fruits and berries has been decreasing in Kazakhstan for several years in a row. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, farmers showed a negative harvest record last year: only 376.1 thousand tonnes, which is 9.5% less than in 2023. The decrease in the indicator was most strongly influenced by the results of the season of seed and stone crops. The harvest of apples, pears, plums, and other similar fruits amounted to about 294.4 thousand tonnes, having decreased by 9% over the year. The indicators of other categories also "sank": berries by 12.9%, grapes by 11.3%, and nuts by 5.1%.
Scientists of the National Agrarian Scientific and Educational Centre (NANOC) plan to revive the legendary aport apple variety.
A plant for deep processing of vegetables and fruits has been started in the Almaty region. The initiator of the project is the Kazakh company "Qazaq Global Food JV".
Sourse: Kapital (Kazakhstan) (in Russian)