Dutch Horticultural Trade Mission to Kazakhstan

A Dutch horticultural trade mission to Kazakhstan will take place from 3 to 7 April. The delegation is accompanied in these days by the Mayor Mr. Bouke Arends of the Municipality of Westland, at the invitation of Mr. Tamabek, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture in Kazakhstan. Mayor Bouke Arends of Westland, “On behalf of the municipality of Westland, it’s an honor to be the first Dutch mayor to visit Kazakhstan. Together with our partner Dutch Greenhouse Delta, I look forward to visit two important international horticulture events to gather knowledge, strengthen our international relationships and show what the Westland horticultural cluster is capable of!” The mission aims to strengthen and boost the relationship in the field of agriculture and horticulture between Kazakhstan and the Netherlands in the long term. Establishing a relationship between Municipality Westland and Aktobe and Almaty Akimat is also one of the goals. The mission will also contribute to positioning the Dutch agriculture and horticulture sector as an answer to Kazakhstan’s demand for food security, increased labor productivity, and eco-system development. The mission is initiated and organized by Dutch Greenhouse Delta, Municipality of Westland, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kazakh Invest, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan.

Investing in sustainable food production

In recent years, Kazakhstan increasingly invests in its agri and horti-sector and aims for an increase in labor productivity and higher productivity per hectare, while reducing scarce resources. In recent years, they have been collaborating with the Netherlands for knowledge, expertise, and innovative technology for sustainable food production. Meanwhile, several inbound and outbound trade missions and knowledge exchanges in online sessions have taken place. Last February, a high-level delegation of Kazakhstani governmental officials and investors visited the World Horti Center in Westland. As a result, three memorandums for cooperation between Dutch and Kazakhstani companies were signed.

Conference in Aktobe and the Flowers. Fazenda. Almaty 2023 exhibition

Upfront to the exhibition in Almaty, the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dutch Greenhouse Delta, Food Ventures, Union of Greenhouses of Kazakhstan with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands are organizing a conference in Aktobe on April 3rd, 2023. This conference will address the development of greenhouse farms in Kazakhstan: success stories and current business opportunities, which will be followed by theme presentations and a field visit to FoodVentures. Thereafter, the Dutch delegation will participate in the Flowers. Fazenda. Almaty 2023 exhibition. The program also includes a round table, a network reception, hosted by the NL Embassy in Kazakhstan, and matchmaking sessions with Dutch and Kzakhstani businesses. Thom van den Berg of Certhon is one of the participants. He tells: "Certhon is joining the mission to Kazakhstan because we believe that high-quality technological greenhouses are the solution for sustainable food production in challenging climates like Kazakhstan. Therefore, we want to use our expertise and experience to contribute to the development of sustainable, healthy food production and food security in Kazakhstan."

As Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Askar Zhumagaliyev says, “In the past 2 years there have been 9 business missions both to Kazakhstan and the Netherlands in the field of agriculture. Businesses from both countries are already implementing number of new initiatives, and the upcoming visit will definitely boost our cooperation. As mentioned by Mr. Bouke Arends, it is the first time in history that a Mayor of a Netherlands Municipality is visiting Kazakhstan. We consider it as a good sign of upcoming projects between the businesses of our countries. Moreover, yesterday on 29th of March our President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev mentioned that around 2,5 billion USD are allocated for new agricultural projects and development of agricultural cooperatives. So, let’s team up and come up with new initiatives.”

Strategic sector

Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world, bordering Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and China, which gives access to the world’s major markets. Kazakhstan is a politically, socially, and economically stable country with a population of 18.2 million people and an area of 2.8 mln sq. km​. Agro-Industrial Complex is one of the most important strategic sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy​. 20% of the employed population is engaged in agriculture and food production and 210 million hectares of its land is used for agriculture. The Kazakhstani Government supports the development of the sector with various incentives and subsidies, a business-friendly environment, and investor rights protection. (source: Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic Kazakhstan).

Participating organizations

The following member companies of Dutch Greenhouse Delta will participate in this promising mission: Bayer-De Ruiter Seeds, BOAL GROUP, Certhon, Grodan, Hoogendoorn Growth Management, Koppert, KUBO, MJ-Tech, Municipality Westland, Ridder, Signify, Svensson and Van der Hoeven Horticultural Projects.

Photo: FoodVentures’ Greenhouse in Aktobe ©FoodVentures

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