Kazakhstan, despite the significant potential of agriculture, remains dependent on seed imports. The country's annual demand for seeds is 2.0 million tons for cereals and legumes, 87 thousand tons for oilseeds, 23 thousand tons for fodder and 289 thousand tons for potatoes. To solve this problem, the Government of Kazakhstan has approved a Comprehensive plan for the development of breeding and seed production for 2024-2028.
There are already 284 certified producers of original and elite seeds in the country, and 27 specialized institutions are engaged in breeding.
The Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Agriculture and Crop Production, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, plays a leading role in this work. The Institute is engaged in the creation of competitive varieties and hybrids resistant to stress factors, as well as the development of organic farming. KazNIIZiR scientists have created more than 650 varieties and hybrids, of which 206 have already been zoned.
Special attention is paid to cooperation with elite seed farms. For example, in the Almaty region, four out of nine such farms interact with KazNIIZiR, including KH Ivan and Budan LLP. However, experts note that many farms are still not engaged in variety renewal or purchase seeds of unknown origin. To solve this problem, the institute annually creates demonstration grounds for training farmers and introducing new technologies.
An important step in the development of seed production was the opening in October 2023 of a center for the production of high-quality seeds on the basis of KazNIIZiR. Here, the seeds undergo a five-step cleaning and calibration.
Construction of a production facility for sorting and thermal treatment of seeds using Swedish ThermoSeed equipment will also begin this year. It is planned to introduce organic seed treatment methods, including the use of natural compounds such as mustard powder and thyme oil.
The volume of elite seed production this year will be increased 4.5–5 times due to the joining of the former Agropark Ontustik LLP to the Institute of Land Resources. KazNIIZiR annually produces and sells more than 1,500 tons of grain seeds, 300 tons of forage and 100 tons of leguminous crops, as well as seeds of corn, safflower and fodder crops.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/moa/press/news/details/917156