One of the many paradoxes of Kazakhstan’s agriculture is that the country which possesses immeasurably vast areas of arable land chronically faces crop failure even in good years. Hundreds of farmers end up in bankruptcy due to low crop yields and snowballing debts for fuel, pesticides and fertilizers. Grain producers in the North Kazakhstan, Kostanay and Akmola regions are desperately struggling to sell their wheat for as low as $85 dollars a ton. The worst forecasts of market experts warn that grain prices may plummet to $60 in the domestic market in coming months which would means inevitable ruin of financially vulnerable farms. Rich wheat harvests in Ukraine and Russia, the main consumers of Kazakh grain, reduce Kazakhstan’s export potential this year. The landlocked country will have to use railway routes to bring its grain to world markets, paying exorbitantly high shipment costs. Theoretically, Kazakhstan could export up to six million tons of grain this year, but in reality the demand for wheat is much lower. The reason is not only fierce competition from Ukrainian and Russian grain producers, but also the low protein content of wheat. It is forecasted that two million tons of wheat will remain unsold in grain storages.

The root cause of the deplorable situation lies in the dwindling fertility of agricultural lands caused by mismanagement, wind and water erosion, and depletion of the humus layer of the soil. Traditional methods of crop management based on extensive tillage and uncontrolled application of herbicides resulted in green pastures and fertile crop areas being turned into wilderness within a decade. Thousands of farmers abandoned their barren land plots. World Bank sources say that since 1990, the cultivated area of arable lands in Kazakhstan declined by 37%. Within the same period, pasture lands decreased by 60%.

Alarmed at the impending agricultural and environmental disaster, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Kazakhstan joined forces with the Global Environment Fund and the World Bank. The dry lands management project currently being implemented and jointly funded by these organizations in the Shett district of Qaraghandy region (Central Kazakhstan) is part of this endeavor to restore the soil fertility in dry areas with low rainfall. The project was launched in March last year. The project manager, Sadyk Baktiyar, says 41 species of plants in the steppe area of Kazakhstan are listed as endangered. In the Shett district, the abandoned dry lands cover an area of 90,000 hectares. Cultivated areas yield as low as 5 quintals of wheat per hectare. The situation is aggravated by the advance of sands in the wind-swept Central Kazakhstan.

Since the launch of the project, much has been achieved in Qaraghandy region. Encouraged by financial aid from the World Bank, the Global Environment Fund and the government, local farmers in the Shett district made a remarkable breakthrough introducing people-centered and environmentally friendly agricultural production. The technology recommended by the project is simple. Dry lands are planted with perennial herbs tolerant of droughts and traditional cereal plants like wheat, rye, oats and canola. The deep roots of perennial grass stunt and kill the weeds. A year ago, it would sound incredible to farmers of the Shett district that a good crop could be grown without deep plowing and extensive tillage. Methods applied to restore dry lands in Central Kazakhstan are similar to no-till technologies used in Brazil, Canada and other countries. The earlier land cultivation system inherited from socialist agricultural management consisted in plowing up the whole area, exposing the soil to erosion. New technology ushers in entirely new approaches to land use. After the crop is harvested, remaining stubbles of cereal crops are disked down and left to decompose in the soil to provide nutrition for the new crop.

Another encouraging sign of the growing environmental consciousness among farmers of the Shett district are wind-powered electricity generators installed to produce electricity and pump water from the wells in cattle farms in remote areas. The principal agriculturalist of the World Bank, Jitendra P. Srivastava, believes that it is important to spread knowledge on management of dry lands accumulated in Kazakhstan to all countries of Central Asia. Project managers are planning to hold an international conference next summer. The joint efforts of Central Asian governments and international organizations revive hopes to win back dry lands from the wilderness, and turn them into a vital source of sustainable development.