According to the ministry, of the total arable land of 1.25 million hectares, 800 thousand hectares are irrigated, while 400 thousand hectares are rain-fed lands.
However, the completion of autumn work is progressing extremely slowly:
• plowing and sowing on irrigated lands have only been completed on 62.2 thousand hectares;
• moisture accumulation has been recorded on only 16 thousand hectares;
• out of 800 thousand hectares, only 78 thousand have been processed (less than 10 percent);
• on rain-fed lands, out of 400 thousand hectares, work has been carried out on only 75 thousand (approximately 18 percent).
The minister noted that such results raise serious concerns against the backdrop of increasing climate risks. He emphasized that the upcoming spring may be low in moisture, and there will not be enough snowfall, which will lead to a water shortage.
“If we do not accumulate moisture now, the harvest in spring will be low,” stressed Bakyt Torobaev, urging farmers to accelerate moisture conservation processes, winter plowing, and the creation of small ditches to retain moisture, especially on rain-fed plots.
He also added that ignoring autumn fieldwork could lead to consequences that will be impossible to rectify. “Winter moisture is the key to the autumn harvest,” the official noted.
The ministry emphasizes that in the context of unstable climate, timely moisture accumulation becomes critically important for future yields.
