Dairy development in Kazakhstan
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The Republic of Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth largest country and has one of its fastest growing economies, based largely on oil and gas production and mineral extraction. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) increased from USD 1 260 in 2000 to USD 6 140 in 20081, with agriculture contributing 6.2 percent, services 51.9 percent and industry 41.9 percent2. The share of livestock production within agriculture’s 6.2 percent of GDP is increasing steadily, and currently stands at 45 percent, o f which the dairy sector contributes 38 percent and other livestock sectors 62 percent. With 47 percent of the total population living in rural areas, where many lack access to cropland but can send their livestock to communal pastures, it is clear that livestock plays a major role in the livelihood strategies of the population Kazakhstan has a continental climate, with hot dry summers and cold to extremely cold winters. Most areas outside the mountainous east, south and north are semi-arid to arid. Of the country’s land area, 69 percent is classified as rangeland, consisting of deserts, semi-deserts and steppes. Arable land covers only 11 percent and agricultural production is possible only with irrigation. The water for this comes from neighbouring countries, and is governed by bilateral and regional agreements; there is increasing tension over water-related issues in the region. Irrigated agriculture is mainly in the south; with the north depending on dryland farming and large-s cale intensive livestock production. During the Soviet years, wheat production and dairying in central parts of the country depended on high levels of external inputs, and this region is now used for extensive livestock production systems based on natural pastures for grazing and hay production. The end of the Soviet era brought major changes to the agriculture sector, which is still adjusting. The following chapter explains the effects of these changes on modes of producing, processing and ma rketing dairy products in Kazakhstan. It also describes Government policies for dairy development, which have recently been gathered into a Dairy Development Master Plan. This review is a follow-up to and utilizes information and findings from a dairy subsector study prepared by the FAO Investment Centre as part of a series of four subsector studies (FAO TCIN, 2010). This review summarizes the findings from the subsector study and provides additional information on the development of the dairy sector including camels/ mares milk production and the agro-ecological, social and institutional environment. The review concludes with the author’s views on the way forward for the Kazakhstan dairy sector.