BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 21. Kazakhstan plans to expand the use of water-saving technologies to 1.3 million hectares of irrigated land by 2030, the Kazakh government said.
The target is expected to result in annual water savings of up to 2.2 billion cubic meters once achieved.
"In 2027, the coverage of water-saving technologies is planned to reach 912,200 hectares, which will allow saving about 1.428 billion cubic meters of water. In 2028, the area will increase to 1.1 million hectares, with water savings of up to 1.721 billion cubic meters, while in 2029, it will reach 1.2 million hectares, with water savings of 1.975 billion cubic meters, respectively," the government's press service said.
To fulfill the president's instruction to introduce water-saving technologies annually on 150,000 hectares of irrigated land, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has expanded state support measures for farmers.
While modern irrigation systems were additionally introduced on about 30,000 hectares in 2023, the figure reached 152,800 hectares in 2024, 153,600 hectares in 2025 and another 158,800 hectares since the beginning of 2026.
As a result, the area of irrigated land covered by water-saving technologies has nearly tripled over three years. Modern irrigation systems were used on 237,100 hectares in 2023, increasing to 389,900 hectares in 2024, 543,500 hectares in 2025 and reaching 702,300 hectares as of September 1, 2026.
Overall, water-saving technologies are currently used on 36% of Kazakhstan's irrigated land, which totals 1.9 million hectares.
According to the government, drip irrigation has seen the most significant expansion, with its coverage increasing almost sixfold from 42,500 hectares in 2023 to 254,300 hectares in 2026. The area covered by sprinkler irrigation doubled over the same period, from 188,300 to 379,000 hectares.
Since the beginning of 2026 alone, drip irrigation systems have been introduced on 86,500 hectares, while sprinkler irrigation systems have been introduced on 65,900 hectares.
