(23 January 2026 | Source: press service of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan)
The results of the state audit for 2023–2024 showed that a significant portion of the funds allocated to support Kazakhstan's agro-industrial complex is being used without achieving the stated economic effect. The inspection uncovered shadow schemes, fictitious transactions, and violations in the distribution of subsidies and loans, which led to the materials being referred to law enforcement agencies.
WHAT THE AUDIT OF AGRICULTURAL FINANCING SHOWED
According to the inspection data, in 2023–2024, approximately 1.2 trillion tenge was allocated for state support measures for the agro-industrial complex. At the same time, the total volume of identified violations amounted to around 300 billion tenge, of which 32 billion tenge were classified as direct budget losses. Finance Minister Madi Takiyev noted that the use of funds often does not lead to the expected economic effect and does not impact the well-being of the population.
SHADOW SCHEMES AND FICTITIOUS TRANSACTIONS
As part of subsidising farmers, the audit uncovered shadow schemes totalling 5.5 billion tenge. In 11 regions, cases of fictitious resale of the same cattle between subsidy recipients were recorded. The total volume of such transactions amounted to 808.1 million tenge.
VIOLATIONS IN INVESTMENT PROJECTS
For agricultural investment projects implemented using budget loans, violations totalling 13.3 billion tenge were identified. The audit established cases where livestock and equipment were either not delivered or were delivered in smaller quantities. Additionally, some construction and installation work was paid for but not actually carried out.
PROBLEMS WITH MICROCREDITING
Separate violations were identified in the issuance of microloans. According to the Ministry of Finance, 25 borrowers with overdue debts and active liens received new loans totalling 177.7 million tenge, despite their combined outstanding debt being 45.8 million tenge.
INEFFECTIVENESS OF FIELDWORK FINANCING
The inspection also pointed to the systemic ineffectiveness of the financing programmes for fieldwork and harvesting. With an annual volume of 140 billion tenge covering approximately 3,200 borrowers, the current model for distributing funds does not achieve the stated coverage of up to 70% of farmers' costs. Funds are distributed among a large number of recipients in small amounts, which fails to support the full production cycle.
WHAT MEASURES THE GOVERNMENT HAS ORDERED
In light of the identified violations, the head of the government ordered the following:
- introduce end-to-end digital monitoring integrating the systems of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, and local executive bodies;
- revise the subsidy system to focus on actual product output, rather than formal indicators;
- apply format-logical control, restricting the sale of subsidised livestock until the conditions of state support are met;
- introduce mandatory state expert examination of construction and installation work for investment projects implemented using state loans.
The materials concerning the identified facts have been sent to law enforcement agencies for procedural decisions.