Utilization fee is an insurance shot at agricultural producers - a farmer from the West Kazakhstan region

The closer the date of enactment of the order of the Ministry of Ecology on the introduction of utilization fee for agricultural machinery is, the more often farmers, in conversations with us, say that they feel utterly discouraged. According to them, under conditions of coronavirus pandemic, manufacturers have enough problems as it is, so the introduction of utilization fee is perceived by them as another blow to the entire industry.

We contacted Ruslan Ibatov, head of West Kaz Agro (Terekta District, WKR), with a request to comment on this subject.

- This is simply an insuranse shot at agricultural producers, because here we are no longer talking about some intermediaries and speculators, but directly about the commodity producers who produce and feed the country. Agrarians work on tractors and harvesters, grow crops, bread and breed animals. We are absolutely against this collection. There will be a chain reaction, prices will rise again, which can lead to social tension. This utilization fee will simply bring the farmers to their knees, causing them unnecessary costs. 

In fact, not only do we produce, we also pay taxes, salaries, feed the whole country. We don't just work for ourselves, the people who work in the fields depend on us. It' s definitely a blow to all of us. Any increase at the moment will have a negative impact. The situation is very difficult right now. The solvency of the people has fallen already. A couple of months ago, vegetable growers in the south got into a bad situation as well, the cabbage could not be transported anywhere. Therefore, there is no guarantee that we will be able to sell what we grow above the prime cost. The situation is dire across the country, but if we keep pushing like this, I don't know where it will lead.

FROM EDITORIAL STAFF. The editorial staff of the World of Nan project is still waiting for answers from the relevant ministries that were involved in the preparation of the introduction of the utilization fee. As soon as we get a response to our requests, we'll publish the comments from the ministries.