“An analysis of the current rules confirmed the words of farmers that subsidies and soft loans are mainly received only by large businesses, and they are“ tailored ”to certain companies. And this despite the repeated orders of Elbasy and the President about the need to support small and medium-sized businesses, increase the share of SMEs in gross domestic product. Cutting off measures to support small business and lean toward large leads to a loss of potential for agricultural development”, said Nurzhan Altayev.
Mountain gave birth to a mouse
Briefly recall the essence of the problem.
Aslan Mamytbekov as Minister of agriculture from 2011 to 2016, started a costly project to transform Kazakhstan into a “meat Empire”, promising to build the country’s production of high-quality “marbled” beef, which is meat premium quality and comes in steaks. Of course, and expensive, notes “KazahZerno.kz“.
Misleading these air castles in the sand the common sense of anyone who can (government, MPs and even the head of state), Mamytbekov and his team beat your meat project astronomical sums. And foolishly squandered them. Basically to carry at exorbitant prices in the country supposedly “purebred” cattle from very far abroad. Tests have shown that very often under the guise of elite livestock in the country were supplied with some kind of genetic garbage with fraudulent documents. Moreover, often the patient during the entire process in Kazakhstan has delivered a whole slew of diseases, which earlier in the country simply did not exist!
The beast, which was lucky to recover after swimming through the ocean and get over infection, on the foggy shores of the Country of the great Steppe were waiting for new challenges – cold and hunger. Not accustomed to wintering in the open field grazing, steers and heifers were shriveled and dead. At best, fell under the butcher’s knife.
As a result, inherent in the project target indicator (export 60 thousand tons of meat by 2016) not that has not been fulfilled – the country increased its dependence on external supplies of all types of meat! A natural “reward” for failing to Mamytbekov became the “departure” from the Ministerial chair. The second award was the “title” belt, which will stuck to Mamytbekov after the President praised his work as Minister of trenchant phrase “the Mountain gave Birth to Mouse in the result of your work grow, Mamytbekov!”
Meat oligarchs
However, it soon became clear that the import of cattle some very good money. And even managed to create the so-called tribal reproducers. They were few, and they all United in the Meat Union of Kazakhstan – a kind of private club of the biggest cattlemen in the country.
These Islands of prosperity amid the General decline flourished since generously supported by the state. Why? Because the attitude towards them had former officials of the Ministry of agriculture – itself Asylzhan Mamytbekov and former Director of the Department of livestock (emitted from the civil service on corruption article) Maksut Baktybayev. I think no need to explain that in preparing his departure from the Ministry of agriculture, Mamytbekov has taken care of that the river of Finance budget running in the right channel.
Receiver Mamytbekov as Minister, Askar Myrzakhmetov, tried to redirect financial flows in a more sensible way for a more useful purpose – the support of ordinary farmers and smallholders. However, initiatives to bring it to an end was not given and was quickly asked to leave. Who asked? Umirzak Shukeyev, long-term “cartridge” Mamytbekov.
Once Umirzak estaevich Shukeev has been became Minister of agriculture in the agricultural Department came back and he Mamytbekov – to the position of Executive Secretary. And with renewed vigor took up the meat. And, now, in drawing castles in the air quite shy and took part in the development of a new program beef cattle, which promised for ten years to double the number of cattle And small ruminants, as well as the increase in production of lamb and beef to 1 million tons per year (from current 600 thousand to 1.6 million tons per year).
Billions downwind
In this case, as it appears now, these plans originally had is not going to perform. As reported recently, an insider from the team Mamytbekov, even understand it – cynical arrogance on pumping money from the budget will last a year or two.
That is, everything was done for one purpose only – to provide “their” (that is, a number of breeding loud-speakers and feedlots) generous subsidies. For years it went from the rise, from 40 to 100 billion tenge a year!
In early 2019, the President replaced the Minister of agriculture, they became Saparkhan Omarov. And soon ranchers began problem with subsidies is their “destiny “favourites” visible to the naked eye.
However, at the end of the year, the pastoralists managed their “get” — about 37 billion tenge. However, the victory proved to be temporary – Ministry of agriculture rightly decided that the pastoralists receive generous government funding, and must work in the interests of the state. Not just their deep pockets. And introduced a six-month ban on the export of live cattle.
Was this: while Mamytbekov and his men sat in the Ministry of agriculture, they were able (as usual) to convince everyone (government, MPs, the head of State) that the rate of natural reproduction of the herd is too low. And in order to Kazakhstan has become the same in the meat Empire, the breeding stock need to be imported from outside. A subsidy for this process in the budget herdsmen has laid a good – 225 thousand tenge.
However, as soon as “mamytbekov” from the Department of agriculture, “left”, as they themselves started to drive abroad… live cattle. Immediately forgetting the promise to sell Kobe beef at high prices, they sell live cattle for next to nothing. Opportunity costs (and hence, the direct damage to agriculture) is measured by hundreds of percent.
Now, live cattle for 2019 exported nearly 160 thousand heads. In particular, breeding stock, imports of which were subsidized at the expense of the budget! Moreover, only according to official statistics, the export took 9000 heifer. It is easy to calculate that this is 2 billion put on the wind subsidies! And despite the fact that the experts put the figure much higher, and wasted budget funds a lot more.
But this is the beginning. The fact that each head of a bull, put on the feeding platform, the state pays about 60 thousand tenge. It is 9 billion tenge, which should serve to saturate the domestic market with quality meat. But in the end, the meat is left to foreigners (mainly Uzbeks), and his fellow professionals for fattening left to feed on low-grade imported chicken, stuffed with steroids and other nasty substances.
The motives of the pastoralists are simple: the sale of live cattle abroad, they quickly, without much cost cutting, etc., have made billions tenge. In particular, due to VAT refunds – another way to rip off the state, off.
Corruption spirit
So the question is where is the logic? Why should the state budget finance the prosperity of the business of several large companies that have managed to prosper on a crookedly built state support system?
Oddly enough, the current Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov is in no hurry to say anything about the scandal.
Mazhilisman Nurzhan Altayev was ahead of him. On Wednesday, February 5, at a meeting of the lower house of parliament, in his deputy’s request, he asked Prime Minister Askar Mamin to initiate an audit of the entire subsidy system in the agricultural sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In fact, this is a request for a revision of the “heritage” of Asylzhan Mamytbekov, which remained in the industry after its ten-year influence on agriculture.
“Based on the results of meetings with voters – farmers of Shymkent and the Turkestan region, he voiced a deputy request at the Plenary meeting of the Mazhilis addressed to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mamin A.U.”, Nurzhan Altayev wrote on his Facebook. “Farmers called the subsidy system blatantly unfair and discriminatory. And moreover, such assessments were made by farmers not only from one region, but in different regions of the country. There is also a mass of obscure and unnecessary for the production requirements for objects. These criteria narrow the circle of recipients and cut off small and medium-sized businesses from subsidies”.
By the way, among the criteria that put a barrier in front of those who want to receive state support is a very egregious demand – the need to get approval from the Meat Union of Kazakhstan (private shop!). Here it smells not just arrogance, but for three miles it carries a real corrupt spirit! I would like to believe that the revision of the Mamytbekov heritage will lead not only to a revision of the subsidy system, but also to an assessment by law enforcement agencies of the activities of the creators of the crooked schemes.
Myrzabek Smagulov