From Onion Beds to Chipping Potatoes: The Story of the “NAM” Peasant Farm in Southeastern Kazakhstan

As part of the International Potato Tour, we continue to meet with outstanding agricultural producers and share the stories of the people behind the industry. Our next stop is southeastern Kazakhstan, home to the “NAM” peasant farm. Viktor Konstantinovich Nam, the head of the enterprise, shared insights with us on family traditions, transitioning to new irrigation systems, and the secrets of growing chipping potatoes.

A Family Business with Deep Roots

The “NAM” peasant farm is a prime example of an agribusiness built across generations and rooted in strong family ties.

• Foundation: The enterprise was established in 1996. It was started by Viktor’s father, and the business was later continued by his uncle, German Nikolaevich.
• Family History: The family has historical ties to the region: their ancestors ended up in the city of Ushtobe as a result of the resettlement of Koreans from the Far East.
• The Leader’s Path: Viktor Konstantinovich himself is an economist by education. He began working on the family farm around 2000, working his way up from a tally clerk and assistant brigade leader to the head of the farm.

Scale and Shifting Priorities

Today, the farm is a large agricultural enterprise that has transformed significantly over its years of operation.

• Land Bank: The farm manages about 800 hectares of irrigated land and around 3,000 hectares of rainfed land dedicated to grain crops.
• Specialization: Currently, the farm focuses on four main crops: potatoes, sugar beet, corn, and grains.
• Moving Away from Vegetables: Initially, Koreans in this region traditionally grew onions and other vegetables (cabbage, carrots, tomatoes). However, over time, they had to abandon onions, as the crop became too labor-intensive and economically unviable, prompting the farmers to switch to more manageable crops.

Potato Farming: A Focus on Processing

The farm has been growing potatoes for about 20 years, having built a clear sales strategy.

• Area: Approximately 150 hectares are planted with potatoes annually.
• Distribution: About 30% of the harvest goes to the table market, while 70% is sent for processing.
• Factory Partnerships: The enterprise supplies potatoes to potato chip factories in the Almaty region, including the chip manufacturing companies “Chips Production” and PepsiCo.
• Varieties and Seed Stock: The chipping variety “Opal” is grown specifically for processing. The farm actively uses elite reproduction seeds in production. At the same time, they apply a technique of intentionally increasing the planting density to obtain tubers of the optimal size for chips.

Technologies and Overcoming Challenges

Agriculture requires constant management of climate risks and terrain features, and the “NAM” farm approaches this systematically.

• Irrigation Modernization: Historically, the fields here were irrigated exclusively using the aryk (gravity trench) system, but now a systematic transition to drip irrigation has begun. A field with subsurface drip irrigation is already operational. This solves two major issues: it saves water and reduces the need for heavy manual labor by irrigation workers.
• Dealing with Stones: A specific problem with the local fields is the large number of stones that constantly rise to the soil surface. To clear the fields after plowing, a Polish stone-picking machine is used. Despite its low productivity (about two hectares per 8-hour shift), this is a necessary step in land preparation.

Despite all the challenges of the agricultural sector, working the land remains the main calling for the Nam family. As Viktor Konstantinovich philosophically notes: “Difficulties arise in any case… You get a good harvest—that’s good. Well, if you don’t… you just have to rely on yourself, and on nature.”