Timur Taipov

The purpose is to study the application of a geographic information system (GIS) for comprehensive spatial and analytical assessment of land resources with high environmental value, ensuring efficient land use, environmental sustainability, and scientifically grounded territorial management. Methods — analytical, statistical, and cartographic methods enabling quantitative and qualitative assessment of the land’s nature-conserving value. Using the cartographic and geoinformation method, topographic combinations of thematic layers (soils, relief, structural condition of lands) were analyzed to identify spatial interrelationships of factors. Results — a landscape analysis of rational management of the land fund was conducted. To study the environmental protection role of land tracts, key criteria were identified: relief and slope of the land plot, environmental condition (erosion, salinization, degradation), configuration of land parcels, and their use. Each parameter was determined on a scale of 0–1 based on the linear normalization method. Conclusions — practical implementation of GIS technologies will enable monitoring and visualization of the balance of characteristics of agricultural land, identify zones of inefficient and irrational exploitation requiring priority restoration measures. Geo-analytical platforms contribute to increasing the profitability of agricultural enterprises and optimizing their costs. Digital cartographic products are increasingly encountered in the practice of intensively developing farms. These systems are necessary for creating and maintaining cadastres of land and water bodies, property registers, environmental and weather monitoring, emergency management, prevention of production risks, and establishing interrelations among various causes affecting crop yields. The most important advantage of such data, especially satellite imagery, is their low cost for regular surveys of large territories.

The goal is to study the main factors influencing the rational use of land resources and the impact of regional specificities on the development of agricultural sectors, in order to form sustainable land use in rural areas. Methods – statistical, systemic, and comprehensive approaches served as the methodological foundation for the effective turnover of agricultural land; comparative analysis, subject-logical, and economic-statistical methods were used to process data on the land fund of the North Kazakhstan Region. Results – land cultivation optimization was considered from the perspective of understanding scientifically based indicators influencing the efficient use of natural-resource potential, such as the allocation of crop areas on agricultural lands considering soil fertility and legal regulation. A key condition motivating land users to improve land productivity in the long term is the use of land according to its intended purpose. It is noted that many of the problems arising during the creation of effective farming mechanisms stem from imperfect ecological-economic relations, disregard for ecosystem approaches, extensive agricultural practices, and deficiencies in land plot monitoring systems. Particular attention is given to issues of wind and water degradation and the urgency of radical measures to combat these phenomena. Conclusions – it is important to maintain and improve the quality characteristics of soil that affect crop yields. Stability of external land boundaries, land rights, and internal land-use organization are objective conditions for legal regulation of land ownership. According to the authors, the technological security of land areas is reflected not only in their layout and energy infrastructure but also in the availability of agricultural machinery to ensure full land utilization.

Currently, the mechanism of territory zoning is one of the main criteria for preserving the productive potential of agricultural land. Reduction of fertile lands, increase in the number of degraded areas as a result of negative desertification processes, decrease in the efficiency of agricultural lands, their conversion into reserve lands, indicates the irrationality of the existing directions and technologies of territorial division of lands by purpose, underutilization of production possibilities. For example, in 1991 the size of land use was 218.3 million hectares, in 2022 land plots are used by 50% (115.9 million hectares). Purpose - to study theoretical and methodological approaches to the planning of agricultural land and rural settlements (RS), taking into account economically balanced development and transparent spatial distribution. Methods - analysis and synthesis, with the help of which the cause-and-effect relations of functional and natural-economic zoning were determined; statistical method allowed to analyze the factors of involvement of agricultural land by categories and information-statistical data on Kyzylorda region. Results - the problems of establishing functional zones for the purpose of regulating the agricultural land market were revealed, socially oriented indicators of land ranking on the basis of land registration materials were outlined, existing systems of land use management were shown. Conclusions - zoning of lands intended for agricultural production in the RS is carried out in order to determine the boundaries of assessment zones and correction factors to the basic rates of payment for land plots, and is also necessary as a tool for regularization of land resources of built-up areas. A necessary condition for ecologically acceptable agricultural nature management is compliance with a set of agrotechnical practices and measures.

This article discusses the issues of cluster policy formation in the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of studying the experience of leading countries. The research aim is to find new effective tools and institutions for the development of the cluster structuring of the agro-industrial complex economy of Kazakhstan. Cluster policy in the field of supporting regional clusters starts with the identification of already existing clusters in the region, because by viewing the regional economy through the prism of various local industries and innovative enterprises, regional authorities can identify measures of effective impact and support for their clusters. This research examines the possibilities of using clusters and cluster policy as one of the most important components of the policy for the development and support of small and medium-sized enterprises in Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial complex. The research methodology includes qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods, comparative analysis, and mathematical processing (the Pearson correlation coefficient), as well as the modeling of possible development scenarios. The obtained results show that there are significant opportunities for a wider involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in the formation of cluster structures of the agro-industrial sector through joint efforts by the government and regional centers in the conditions of innovative development of the country’s economy.

Relevance of the topic: agricultural sector is one of the priority sectors of the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The financial policy of the state in the modern stage of agricultural development is aimed at supporting agricultural producers. However, small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises often face financial difficulties and limited access to loans and micro- loans. This article analyzes the current problems of micro lending for agricultural organizations – high interest rates, complex procedures for obtaining borrowed funds and insufficient economic literacy among borrowers. The goal is to develop measures to improve access for small and me- dium-sized agricultural businesses to short-term microloans. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to use special programs and tools aimed at assisting entrepreneurs, as well as increase the level of financial education and consulting assistance for potential lenders. Methods – monographic, economic-statistical, analytical, abstract-logical. Results – the system of preferential financing by economic sector, factors limiting entrepreneurial activity, and lending conditions for rural resi- dents are shown. The authors offer a number of recommendations to improve the situation, con- tributing to the expansion of family businesses; promoting gender equality by encouraging wom- en to participate in economic activities; involvement of low-income groups in real economy; creat- ing new jobs; formation of new guidelines in the financial market. Conclusions – micro lending in the country is not yet sufficiently supported by the necessary regulatory framework. The main standards that microfinance organizations must comply with are the adequacy of their own funds and liquidity. The provision of micro loans is designed to stimulate the development of small and medium-sized agribusiness in rural areas, increase the level of employment of rural residents, and increase their incomes. Joint efforts of the state and business will lead to the development of an effective mechanism for rural microfinance.

The relevance of the study is determined by the importance of introducing digital technologies in crop production industry to improve the efficiency of agro-industrial complex. The goal is to show the directions, advantages of digitalization in domestic crop production, problems and suggest ways of solution. The following methods were used in the article - analysis, systematization, generalization and selection of facts, establishing links between them. Results - the starting conditions, priorities and reasons that hinder and complicate digital transformation are considered: limited access of agricultural producers to technical innovations and modern agricultural machinery; a long network of intermediaries, wholesalers and retailers; low level of development of communications and IT infrastructure; lack of localized IT solutions for agricultural sector; shortage of qualified personnel. In the current situation, the authors consider it necessary and timely to increase the level of mechanization (energy saturation) and automation up to the average world class, effective public support; widespread use of digital platforms; improvement of the personnel motivation system; organization of government -funded training centers for farmers. The practice of applying technological operations of precise and digital agriculture in cultivation of crops based on the materials of the Akmola region has been studied. Conclusions - entrepreneurs strive to produce more food with fewer resources, therefore a significant breakthrough is needed in creating digital models of the entire agricultural production cycle and interconnected links in value chain. Digital technologies will increase competitiveness and labor productivity, ensure food security and attract investment; this is a high-tech and promising area for all economic entities, regardless of the scale of agribusiness.

The relevance of the topic is determined by the importance of using digital technologies in livestock production industry, which make it possible to increase the profitability of agricultural sector through targeted cost optimization and more efficient allocation of funds. The goal is to assess the current state of digitalization in livestock production in the republic, to identify its advantages and main directions of development. Methods – analysis, systematization, accumulation and selection of facts, determination of the links between them. Results - animal control system, mechanism of their identification, processes of automation and robotization of production stages are shown. Target indicators are analyzed: increasing production volumes, reducing costs and increasing its efficiency, labor productivity, improving the quality of products, reducing the negative impact on the environment. A SWOT analysis was carried out to identify the strengths and weaknesses of digital transformation in this area, as well as the possibilities of threats from the external environment. The experience of using digital processes in obtaining livestock products in the Akmola region has been studied. Conclusions - information systems should be integrated with veterinary services into a public-private platform in order to control the management of business entities and the complete production cycle of products. Digital programs will allow solving food security issues, as well as improving the living standards of the rural population. The fundamental features of digitalization in agriculture will ensure the competitiveness of the domestic livestock complex, attract investment, reduce the incidence of diseases in livestock, and produce high-quality food products.

The relevance of the topic of the article is determined by the importance of diversification of production aimed to increase the competitiveness of agro-industrial complex at the present stage of economic development. The goal is to analyze the features of transformation of organizational and production structure of agricultural enterprise, which consists in supplementing it with new types of products, technologies, suppliers, etc. Objectives to show the importance of diversification processes to ensure sustainability of agricultural producers to negative changes in the external and internal environment. Results – it is noted that the priority areas of diversification in agro-industrial production include the organization of new branches of crop and livestock production, the inclusion of productive species, varieties or hybrids of crops in crop rotations, the development of processing sectors, the system of material and technical supply and marketing of products, etc. commodity diversity, reorientation of sales markets in agro-industrial complex is especially important in view of high risks of doing business associated with the high dependence of its results on weather conditions of the year, soil and natural-climatic factors, etc. The conducted analysis shows that the important conditions for deepening structural restructuring include developed agricultural policy of the State, a system of effective measures for regulating and supporting the industry, attracting investment in the development of agricultural sector and financial markets. The performed studies allowed us to draw the following main conclusions – diversification of production is a promising direction for the development of economic activity of enterprises, ensuring the growth of their proceeds from product sales, profits and profitability.

This article discusses the issue of effective financial management in agriculture. The article considers the indicators of budget spending efficiency that are used by countries with extensive experience in effective budgeting. Such indicators are recommended for adaptation in countries with transitional economy. When assessing the effectiveness of financial management of agriculture in Kazakhstan, it is necessary to take into account examples of effective audit in other countries. The article presents experience of other countries and demonstrates the inconsistency of existing policies in the agricultural sector of Kazakhstan.