Association of Agricultural Producers Presents a Plan to Protect Farmers from Saiga Antelope Raids

Agricultural producers of the Kostanay region, through their профиль association, have brought to public discussion a critical situation related to the migration of saiga antelopes, which threatens the economic sustainability of local farms. The core issue is that in certain districts farmers lose up to 40% of their harvest, yet are left alone with these losses, as state mechanisms for compensating such damage have not yet been developed. Against the backdrop of a continuously growing population of wild animals, agrarians have prepared a package of proposals for the Ministry of Agriculture, members of parliament, and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken,” aimed at legalizing procedures for assessing and compensating losses.

At the heart of the initiative is a request to develop an official methodology that would allow for the legal documentation and assessment of damage caused by saiga raids. In parallel, farmers insist on introducing a system of mandatory crop insurance specifically covering the risk of damage caused by wild animals. To reduce the severity of the problem in the most affected regions, it is also proposed to permit licensed culling in so-called “risk zones.” According to representatives of the Association, these measures must function as an integrated system — ranging from prevention and population control to financial protection in cases where crops are destroyed.

A separate section of the appeal addresses the revision of criteria for the rational use of agricultural land. Currently, farmers are required to demonstrate crop yields of no less than 85% of the district average. However, due to saiga incursions and the natural diversity of soils, this standard becomes unattainable. The Association proposes temporarily — for a period of three to five years — reducing this threshold to 50%. At the same time, the authors of the initiative emphasize the need to take into account the specific characteristics of each rural district individually, as averaged district data do not reflect the actual productivity of specific plots with varying soil quality.