Kazakhstan will attract Canadian AI technologies to improve the efficiency of the agricultural sector.

Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin met with the leadership of the Canadian company TELUS Agriculture. The discussion focused on attracting international IT leaders to the digitalization of Kazakhstan's agro-industrial complex, implementing artificial intelligence to increase crop yields, and jointly developing a Roadmap for the sector's digital transformation. The first step will be a pilot project in the Akmola Region, which should demonstrate how modern technologies can increase yields, improve livestock management, and reduce production costs.

In Brief

• Kazakhstan and the Canadian company TELUS Agriculture have agreed to launch a pilot AI project in the Akmola Region.
• The company's solutions are already used on 101 million hectares of agricultural land in 60 countries worldwide.
• The technologies will allow for monitoring soil fertility, plant protection, and crop selection.
• If successful, the project is planned to be scaled to other regions of the country.

Kazakhstan Bets on Agricultural Digitalization

The issues of implementing artificial intelligence in the agro-industrial complex were discussed by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and the leadership of the Canadian company TELUS Agriculture. The parties considered the possibilities of attracting international IT leaders to the digital transformation of the industry and developing a roadmap for modernizing Kazakhstan's agro-industrial complex.

The key outcome of the meeting was an agreement to launch a pilot project in the Akmola Region. The Canadian side proposed using specialized software and artificial intelligence tools for monitoring soil fertility, plant protection, and more precise selection of agricultural crops.

Why Canadian Technology Was Chosen

TELUS Agriculture is considered one of the largest developers of digital solutions for the agricultural sector. The company's software products are used on 101 million hectares of agricultural land in 60 countries worldwide. The ecosystem integrates tools for crop production, livestock farming, and food retail, providing data collection and analysis at all stages of production.

An additional advantage for Kazakhstan was the similarity of climatic conditions between the Akmola Region and the Canadian province of Alberta. According to investors, this will allow for the adaptation of already proven technological solutions without the need for extensive reworking.

AI Could Change the Approach to Livestock Farming

Of particular interest to Kazakhstan is TELUS Agriculture's experience in livestock farming. According to the company, implementing a similar digital system at a feedlot in the US state of Nebraska with 200,000 head of cattle increased the average daily weight gain to 60 grams per kilogram of feed, resulting in an overall efficiency increase of approximately 70%.

According to Serik Zhumangarin, the development of digital technologies is becoming an important condition for the further growth of the domestic livestock industry.

"Meat and livestock products have historically formed the basis of our people's diet for many generations. Today, demand in the domestic market and the markets of neighboring states is growing dynamically. In these conditions, we need to qualitatively increase production volumes and efficiency. Our mission is to attract leading international technological champions to Kazakhstan and combine their experience directly in production," noted Serik Zhumangarin.

The Minister also stated that 4–5 regional sites have already been identified for implementing digital solutions, including the "Kamystybas" enterprise with a pilot project for 50,000 head of cattle, as well as an ongoing project in the Karaganda Region.

The Scientific Base Will Be the NANEC

To support the pilot project, the parties propose utilizing the capabilities of the National Agrarian Scientific and Educational Center of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the NANEC that should become the platform for the scientific assessment of the effectiveness of new technological solutions and the adaptation of digital protocols to Kazakhstan's conditions.

If the project is successfully implemented, the experience is planned to be extended to other regions of the country.

Author's Conclusion

The cooperation with TELUS Agriculture shows that the digitalization of Kazakhstan's agro-industrial complex is gradually moving from individual experiments to systematic work with international technology companies. For the industry, this is an opportunity to gain access to solutions that have already proven their effectiveness on millions of hectares worldwide. The main question now lies not in the availability of technologies, but in how quickly domestic farms can integrate artificial intelligence into everyday production management and turn digitalization into real growth in crop yields and livestock productivity.