The Ministry of Agriculture is betting on the development of breeding livestock, offering preferential financing to farmers

The First Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry, Zhanibek Kerimaliev, emphasized in a recent radio interview that the development of breeding livestock and seed production is the foundation for sustainable progress in the agricultural sector of Kyrgyzstan.

The Ministry has issued a special order aimed at increasing the population of breeding livestock, taking into account the climatic features of various regions. This document prescribes the breeding and maintenance of only those breeds that are best adapted to specific natural conditions.

In particular, for mountainous areas, breeds that can survive in harsh climatic conditions and easily move across difficult terrain have been selected. These include meat-dairy breeds such as Aberdeen-Angus, Simmental, Montbéliarde, and Hereford. For valley areas, where the focus is on milk production, breeds such as Holstein-Friesian, Swiss, Black-Spotted, Brown, as well as Simmental and Montbéliarde are recommended,” added Kerimaliev.

According to him, Holstein-Friesian is one of the most productive breeds in terms of milk yield, actively used in dairy farming. Overall, most of the recommended breeds are well-suited for Kyrgyzstan and are oriented towards dairy or meat-dairy production.

To support the development of breeding livestock, the Ministry of Agriculture has developed a special program that offers preferential financing for farmers at an interest rate of 3% per annum. This measure applies to both the purchase of breeding livestock within the country and its import from abroad.

According to the ministry's information, there are 186 breeding farms operating in Kyrgyzstan. Farmers purchasing livestock from official breeding farms can expect preferential lending. The main supplies of breeding livestock come from Europe, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

Kerimaliev also highlighted the importance of a careful approach to purchasing breeding animals. He noted that some farmers buy livestock without verified pedigree, which leads to a loss of breeding qualities and turns the animals into ordinary commercial livestock.

In this regard, he urged farmers to always check pedigree documents and breeding cards, as well as to seek consultations from the Ministry of Agriculture, territorial agricultural development offices, and veterinary services.