Kazakhstan and China foster agricultural coop

Beijing played host to the 9th meeting of the working group on locust control and the 7th meeting of technical experts on plant protection, which involved specialists from the ministries of agriculture of Kazakhstan and China.

The meeting participants exchanged information on measures taken this year against plant diseases, locusts and other agricultural pests, on the current state of affairs, as well as on plans for the next year. In addition, issues of interaction and further cooperation in the areas were discussed.

In particular, Acting Chairman Almabek Mars of the State Inspection Committee in the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture’s agro-industrial complex told his Chinese colleagues that in 2019, 205.6 thousand hectares had been cultivated in Kazakhstan to deal with herd locusts.

He went on to say that in 2020 the spread of these pests is projected on an area of ​​553.9 thousand hectares.

Zhu Enlin, Director of the Plant Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China, spoke about new methods of combating highly dangerous pests and said that China is currently preparing for the next season of activities against locust pests.

In general, representatives of the ministries of the two countries noted that timely and coordinated joint activities allowed preventing the migration of locusts and other especially dangerous pests in the adjacent territories of Kazakhstan and China.

The meeting ended up with the signing of a protocol on further cooperation to prevent the spread of locust pests in the border areas of the States for 2020.

Agreements were also reached on consultation of technical experts, on the exchange of experience on the registration of pesticides and the use of biological methods of controlling pests.

In addition, the Chinese side proposed the signing of an agreement on plant quarantine in 2020 between the two ministries.