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By Trend

Kazakhstan and the US will construct a plant for production of corn seeds and non-GMO soybeans, according to director general of KazSeed Almas Tatishev.

"We attract the US experience in the sphere of seed production, create joint enterprises, ensure full transfer of technologies and experience exchange," KazInform quotes him as saying. "The production capacity of the plant will reach 25,000 tons of seed per year, which will enable Kazakh farmers to plant on up to 1 million hectares of land."

An ordinary selection method has allowed to avoid GMO supplements, Tatishev explained.

Moreover, he pointed out that it is planned to open two seed research centers in the country’s north and south.

The director general of KazSeed went on to add that the construction of those centers is expected to begin in 2019 so that to commission them in 2020.

He noted that 10 percent of the produced seeds will meet the demand of own farms, while the remaining 90 percent will be sold in Kazakhstan, as well as Europe and Asia.

Starting in January 2019, the rules for subsidizing the development of seed production came into force in Kazakhstan.

The new subsidies will not be provided for hybrids of the first generation of sunflower, corn, cotton, sugar beet, seeds of cotton varieties of the first and second reproduction and elite seedlings of fruit and berry crops and grapes. A partial reimbursement (up to 50 percent) of the cost of purchase of these crops is provided in new rules.

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