OSCE Programme Office promotes organic farming in Kazakhstan
ASTANA, 26 November 2015 –Agricultural development in line with green growth principles were the focus of an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion today in Astana for some 60 parliamentarians and Agriculture Ministry officials, as well as representatives of civil society and the business community, including the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs.
The event, co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the Coalition for Green Economy and G-Global, an association of legal entities, focused on the needs to promote organic farming, share best practices and the benefits of recently-adopted legislation on the production of organic agricultural produce.
Participants also discussed with national experts and an expert from Ukraine the system of voluntary certification, the efficient use of energy and water-saving technologies and the need to develop concurrent legislation to complement the framework law on organic farming. They developed a set of recommendations to be presented to the Government entities aimed to improve the country’s legal and operational framework in promoting organic agriculture.
“This law will give new impetus to developing Kazakhstan’s agrarian sector,” said Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana Natalia Zarudna. “It will provide grounds for launching the process of standardization, certification, control and labelling of organic products, and for establishing a legal basis and other prerequisites for introducing green growth principles in the country’s agriculture.”
Andrei Begeneev, Member of the Mazhilis of the Parliament, said: “Kazakhstan has huge potential in the area of organic farming. We need to develop solutions that will help improve the quality of Kazakhstan’s food products and export capacity to other countries.”
This was the last in a series of three events on governmental and legal incentives for fostering organic agribusiness aimed at assisting Kazakhstan in its transition to a green economy. Previous seminars took place in Kyzylorda and Shymkent focusing on the use of modern technologies and methods to develop organic farming.
The event is part of the Programme Office’s long-standing efforts to promote sustainable development and green growth principles in the host country.