Month: September 2025

Aidarbek Khojanazarov, a member of the Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament, has proposed making artificial intelligence (AI) technologies a central tool in managing the country’s land resources.

Speaking at parliamentary hearings on AI development, Khojanazarov highlighted longstanding concerns over non-transparent land allocation, a frequent source of public dissatisfaction. “AI can become a key instrument for fair land management and the preservation of every hectare,” he said. “These technologies can identify those who degrade or pollute soils, forecast risks of erosion, salinization, and desertification, and provide land commissions with objective data for decision-making.”

Khojanazarov also noted that Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial complex suffers from a shortage of specialists, including agronomists, economists, and veterinarians. He argued that AI could mitigate this issue by reducing reliance on narrow expertise while broadening access to cutting-edge tools. “For example, in the U.S., the Farmers Edge platform enables a single agronomist to manage two to three times more land using satellite data and analytics. The British startup CattleEye diagnoses livestock diseases through video analytics, cutting veterinarian visits by 25%. In Kazakhstan, similar innovations could lower barriers to growth and unlock new opportunities for local farmers,” he said.

To support this vision, Khojanazarov proposed the creation of agro-IT accelerators at universities, the introduction of AI assistants for agricultural specialists, and the launch of mobile agro-hubs to train farmers in AI applications.

Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek reported that Kazakhstan is already implementing 62 AI-based projects across various sectors, with 9.7 billion tenge (approximately $18 million) allocated through targeted and grant programs. “Currently, 27 universities and six research institutes across 11 regions are involved, with a total of 479 scientists engaged. The largest concentration of projects is in Almaty and Astana,” Nurbek said.

Zhaslan Madiyev, head of the newly formed Ministry for AI Development and Digital Transformation, announced that the International Center for Artificial Intelligence, alem.ai, will open this October in Astana. The center will serve as a platform for uniting researchers, entrepreneurs, civil servants, and technologists working on domestic AI solutions, including those in agriculture. Madiyev noted that Astana Hub, Central Asia’s largest IT startup technopark, has reached capacity, and the new center will complement its infrastructure.

As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan launched Central Asia’s most powerful supercomputer in July, reinforcing its ambition to become a regional technology hub.