Potato conquers Asia

Maxim Bukaemsky, Director of Baimyrza-agro 2018 LLP,
Karaganda region, Republic of Kazakhstan:
– I have been producing potatoes on an industrial scale since 2006. Today, the farm I head operates on 1,300 hectares, but the agricultural holding, of which it is a part, cultivates over 20,000 hectares. Our crop rotation is three-four-field, annually 336 hectares are allocated for potatoes, the rest of the area mainly occupied by wheat and barley.
Gala has been the most common crop variety in Kazakhstan for many years. We also grow it, primarily because of its high consumer qualities, which ensure stable demand.
Every year, the farm buys 40 tons of elite in Germany, and then propagates the seeds in its fields. The work is carried out according to European standards, which is confirmed by the conclusion of the inspectors of the Dutch company NAK.
Potatoes in the republic, as a rule, are grown on irrigation. In our farm, circular sprinklers are used, which is associated with the features of the relief. Watering gives us the opportunity to increase the yield several times. The lower bar, which is set for themselves by the majority of Kazakh farmers, is 40 tons per hectare. But in my practice, the yield indicator reached 60-70 tons of ware potatoes per hectare.
Once I was engaged in the cultivation of potato chips and managed to understand how difficult but interesting the process is. Therefore, it is ready to produce crop varieties intended for processing if this product is in demand.
Our conditions are characterized by such potato diseases as rhizoctoniosis, blackleg, alternariosis, fusarium and phomosis, which causes us the most problems. But late blight in Central Kazakhstan, due to the peculiarities of the climate, has been recorded only once over the past 10 years.
There are enough plant protection products on the local market, and both products of well-known Western companies, including Syngenta and Bayer, and their analogues from China are presented. Among local farmers, the products of the Russian manufacturer SchelkovoAgrokhim will also become popular.
Approximately the same alignment for agricultural machinery. We have trailers from GRIMME, traction equipment from Valtra and Deutz, but there are also Chinese Lovol tractors assembled in Kazakhstan. Some farms also use Belarusian and Russian equipment.
The potato growing project of Baimyrza-agro 2018 LLP began with the construction of a storage facility for 12 thousand tons. Otherwise, you cannot build a successful business in this area. Sales of products received during the season are carried out until the end of May next year. But the bulk of the harvest we are trying to sell in April.
The traditional markets are the southern regions, where ware potatoes are not cultivated. But there we compete with Russian, Kyrgyz and Iranian tubers. Despite fierce competition, our products are also represented in Russia.
The volume of crop production in the region continues to grow, which is explained by the change in the food culture of entire peoples. In the republics of Central Asia, as well as in China, Iran, Pakistan and other countries of this part of the world, people began to eat more potatoes. This gives us the opportunity to work and plan for the future.