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The “German-Kazakh Agricultural Dialogue” (APD), funded by the German Ministry of Agriculture and Food, supported the conference "Organic in Kazakhstan. Achievements. Challenges. Prospects" held in Almaty, on October 7 . The event was initiated under the auspices of the Committee of Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Amongst the participants were representatives of the "Union of Organic Producers of Kazakhstan", the local certification organization "Qazaq Bio Control", "Kazakhstandart", as well as the "Kazakh National Agrarian Research University" and other national scientific institutions. The Chairman of the Committee of Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kuanysh Elikbayev, emphasized that nowadays the consumption of organic products is a trend in the development of the food market, and Kazakhstan has a significant potential for the production of organic and environmentally friendly products in demand not only in the country, but also abroad.
Within the framework of the conference, the company “Organic Village" was awarded as the first crop farm to be issued with a Kazakhstan's organic certificate. The farm is based in Almaty region and has been operating since 1999. The mission of "Organic Village" is to produce ecologically clean, healthy and affordable food products for consumers in Kazakhstan. At the moment, more than 35 types of vegetables and herbs are grown there. Crops new to the local market are especially popular: kale, asparagus, yams, and okra. A separate important direction for Organic Village is the zoning and introduction of edamame beans, soybeans and processing of these products.
Participants of the conference highly appreciated the efforts of Organic Village to maintain high standards of organic farming, as well as the company's plans for the future: an increase in the area of cultivation of all major crops, the launch of processing of horticultural and berry products, providing year-round cultivation with the use of closed soil and holding the first organic festival in Kazakhstan for farmers from all over the country and from neighboring countries. These plans were shared by Renat Japarov, Director of Organic Village, as part of his presentation. Presently, the farm is working on the promotion of its products in large grocery chains in Almaty. More than 250 families have been regularly receiving Organic Village products directly from the farm for several years.
The APD project, implemented by AFC for four years now, will continue its efforts to support and strengthen organic movements in Kazakhstan as one promising field for future developments of the agricultural sector.
For more information, please contact: stefanie.maak [at] afci.de