President Tokayev Calls for Modernization of Kazakhstan’s Agricultural Science

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has highlighted the urgent need to advance applied agricultural science during his annual State-of-the-Nation Address.

“Satellite monitoring and geoanalytics are already helping us identify unused land and return it to circulation. We must move further. It is necessary to enhance the efficiency of satellite monitoring of farmland using artificial intelligence, which should provide in-depth analysis of soil quality, yields, and the condition and distribution of crops,” the president said, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

He noted that this approach also applies to forestry, citing that 9,000 hectares of neglected land were recently discovered in the North Kazakhstan region. President Tokayev instructed the creation of a unified digital map of land resources, integrating cadastral data along with information on subsoil use and infrastructure.

“Long-term, sustainable growth of the agro-industrial sector is no longer possible without accelerating the development of applied agricultural science. Despite significant budget allocations, the return from agricultural research remains low. The commercialization rate of developments does not exceed 17 percent, and only 40 percent of graduates in this field actually pursue careers in it. The gap between agricultural science and real-world application persists,” he added.

Earlier, President Tokayev instructed the transformation of the National Agrarian Science and Educational Center into an Agrotechnology Hub, emphasizing the need for a clear plan for agronomy focused on digital technologies and significant productivity gains.

The president also stressed the importance of veterinary science and phytopathology, noting that weaknesses in these fields limit the competitiveness of Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial sector.

During the Address to the Nation at a joint session of Parliament, President Tokayev also announced that Kazakhstan will establish a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence. Earlier, the president instructed the government to launch a series of enterprises in the field of rare earth metals in Kazakhstan over the next three years.