About the program

1. Conducting scientific research in the field of water security and scientific justification of projects for the construction of engineering structures for the redistribution of river flows to water-deficient regions and new irrigation and drainage systems, and the development of new production control and management systems.

1.1. Research on water security issues up to 2040

1.2. Preparation of proposals for the construction of new engineering structures and irrigation and drainage systems for the south of Kazakhstan.

2. Ensuring reliable operation of water management facilities, as well as increasing the efficiency of land and water resource use, improving the melioration status of irrigated lands, widespread introduction of market principles, mechanisms and digital technologies in water management and stable water supply to all sectors of the economy.

2.1 Research of the potential of water resources of the southern regions of the republic and development of water-saving technologies:

- development of conceptual foundations for assessing changes in regional climate as a condition for the formation of water resources in the south of Kazakhstan;

- development of methodological foundations for assessing the natural resource potential of surface and groundwater resources in the southern regions of Kazakhstan;

- development of methodological foundations for assessing water consumption (current and projected) by the population and sectors of Economy;

- research and development of resource-saving technologies for water resources;

- monitoring and development of a forecasting system for effective water resources management;

- additional staffing of existing and opening of new water resources laboratories equipped with innovative equipment.

2.2 Research and development of innovative methods for determining water quality and water purification technologies:

- development of an information database and methodological basis for assessing the quality of surface and ground water (principles, methods, approaches);

- development of innovative methods for determining the quality of natural and waste water;

- development and improvement of water purification technology;

- optimization and testing of modern technologies for monitoring the quality of waste and natural water;

- opening of a water quality laboratory equipped with innovative equipment.

2.3 Study of the resource potential of the agricultural sector of the economy of the southern regions of Kazakhstan and development of scientific and applied justification for sustainable management of land resources, irrigation and drainage facilities and irrigation networks;

- development of methodological principles for assessing the natural resource potential of forage and land resources and analysis of agrochemical indicators of soils

- development of scientific and technological support for the preservation and restoration of the fertility of agricultural lands;

- development and implementation of agrotechnical measures for the use of new organic fertilizers aimed at increasing soil fertility and crop yields;

- development of innovative technologies in cultivation and growing of plant crops based on the principles of organic farming, with the creation of experimental modular production facilities for wide distribution in crop production;

- development of innovative technologies for processing animal and plant raw materials based on the principles of organic agriculture with the creation of modular production of environmentally friendly products of various assortments;

- additional staffing of existing and opening of new laboratories for agricultural modeling and business planning, equipped with innovative equipment.

2.4 Development of technology and technical means of irrigation, reconstruction and modernization of existing irrigation systems:

- development of a methodology for calculating irrigation water needs and justification of irrigation regimes for forage and industrial crops;

- scientific and technological justification for the introduction of water-saving irrigation technologies;

- numerical studies of the stability of earth dams and slopes in the southern regions of Kazakhstan;

- study of hydrological laws (model) of ground water movement;

- study of physical processes in hydrology - the relationship between precipitation and runoff from the surface of a river basin;

- study of the main physical processes in the purification of natural and waste water;

- additional equipment for existing and opening of new irrigation technology laboratories equipped with innovative equipment .

2.5 Research of construction materials and structures used in hydrotechnical engineering:

- development of formulations for hydrotechnical concrete using a wide range of modifying additives;

- selection of compositions and determination of physical and mechanical properties of concretes on various fillers;

- research the quality of new construction  materials, geometric dimensions and shapes of structures;

- additional equipment for existing and opening of new STEAM laboratories for testing construction  materials and structures, equipped with innovative equipment.

2.6 Implementation of scientific developments into production and the educational process.

2.7 Providing consulting, testing new product samples, materials and technological processes;

2.8 Organization of advanced training courses for employees of the water industry, as well as their training and retraining.

2.9 Orientation of educational programs in the field of water management with the participation of representatives of the agro-industrial complex and foreign experts towards solving strategic problems of the industry.

1. Conducting scientific research work in the field of processing industry to integrate science into the educational process for the production of new materials and food products.

1.1 Development of technology for the production of light industry materials:

- improvement and development of resource-saving technologies for the production of non-woven materials for construction purposes, and examination of their quality;

- development and improvement of technology for manufacturing footwear according to individual parameters (modeling and development of product models with the production of industrial samples);

- development and improvement of technology for obtaining textile and leather materials of the  multifunctional purposes;

- optimization and testing of modern technologies for finishing textile and leather materials at the request of manufacturers;

- optimization and testing of non-woven materials manufacturing technology;

- development and improvement of technology for manufacturing shoes according to individual parameters;

- additional staffing of existing laboratories and opening of new ones for the quality of materials and products of the light industry, equipped with innovative equipment.

1.2 Organization of breakthrough scientific research in the food and processing industry:

- development of technology for the rational use of plant materials for the production of safe therapeutic and prophylactic nutrition products with increased biological value, created on the basis of natural food raw materials, enriched with vitamins and microelements;

- conducting a comprehensive study of the physical and mechanical properties of flour, dough and finished products;

- determination of the content of heavy metals, nitrites, nitrates, residual amounts of pesticides, herbicides and mycotoxins , indicators of oxidative spoilage in food products;

- conducting a complete physical and chemical analysis of food products: determination of moisture, ash content, sugar, fat, proteins, titratable acids, content of various ions, etc.;

– mastering and effective use of modern high-tech equipment for scientific research in the field of food industry;

– conducting monitoring studies of the volume and content of food enterprises’ requests for personnel training in relevant areas (system of requirements for professional qualifications, etc.);

- additional staffing of existing and opening of new research laboratories for food production, equipped with innovative equipment.

1.3 Organization and implementation of training courses on declared programs for improving competence in accordance with international requirements for employees of food and processing industry enterprises;

1.4 Orientation of educational programs of light and food industries with the participation of business representatives towards solving strategic problems of the industry.

3. Regulatory documents

The implementation of the Program should enable the solution of the tasks, achieving goals and indicators defined in the following strategic and program documents:

1. Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated February 18, 2011 No. 407-IV “On Science”;

2. Development Strategy of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2050;

3. The concept of development of higher education and science in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2023-2029, approved by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 28, 2023 No. 248, paragraph 28 of the Action Plan;

4. Minutes of the meeting of the National Council on Science and Technology dated April 12, 2023, paragraph 2.2;

5. The Address of the Head of State K. Tokayev to the people of Kazakhstan “The Economic Course of a Just Kazakhstan” dated September 1, 2023, paragraph 52 of the ONP;

6. The Address of the Head of State K. Tokayev to the people of Kazakhstan “A Just State. A United Nation. A Prosperous Society” dated September 1, 2022, paragraph 39 of the ONP;

7. Concept for the development of the agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2021–2030;

8. Concept for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030.

9. Water Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

4.1 Direct results:

1.     A scientific research center was created on the basis of the regional OHPE to provide a full cycle of accredited services for water and agricultural management, and the processing industry of Kazakhstan;

2.     An engineering center was created on the basis of the regional OHPE;

3.     A set of recommendations has been developed for the efficient use and development of water and land resources and resource-saving technologies for the light and food industries;

4.     New products and goods have been developed and launched, and the range of services has been expanded in the areas of agriculture, water, food and light industry;

5.     A centralized platform for joint research on the development of innovations in the fields of water, agriculture, food and light industry has been created for scientists from foreign and Kazakh universities;

6.     New startups (at least 2) have been developed and launched in the area of activity of laboratories developing innovations and/or commercializing the results of scientific and (or) scientific and technical activities;

7.     A Centre of Academic Excellence has been established to provide a full range of accredited services in the field of water resources and processing industry, consisting of at least 7 laboratories;

8.     Proposals have been developed for the construction of new engineering structures and irrigation and drainage systems for the south of Kazakhstan;

9.     Methods have been developed and technologies for water purification have been improved;

10. Innovative technologies have been developed for restoring the resource potential of soils, cultivating agricultural crops and processing products;

11. New construction  materials for hydrotechnical engineering construction have been developed;

12. Technologies for producing textile and leather materials for multifunctional purposes have been developed;

13. Technologies for the rational use of plant raw materials for the production of safe therapeutic and prophylactic nutrition products with increased biological value have been developed

14. Knowledge transfer center for specialists in water, agricultural and processing industries;

15. Partnership and conclusion of joint agreements for scientific projects and provision of services with funding provided from businesses and/or industrial companies in the water, agricultural and processing industries.

4.2 Final result:

1) the volume of released high-tech products and services must be at least 10% of the amount allocated based on the scientific and technical assignment;

2) the volume of attracted investments into fixed capital for development must be at least 7% of the amount allocated based on the scientific and technical assignment;

3) the presence of tax deductions based on the results of the sale of high-tech products and services;

4) at least 3 (three) registered start-ups developing innovations and/or commercializing the results of scientific and (or) scientific and technical activities;

5) the volume of funds attracted for the development of start-ups that developing innovations and/or commercializing the results of scientific and (or) scientific and technical activities must be at least 1.5% of the amount allocated based on the scientific and technical assignment;

6) graduation of at least 10 (ten) PhD students in the profile of the scientific and technical assignment;

7) publication of at least 10 (ten) articles based on the research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals indexed in the first two quartiles (Q1, Q2) by impact factor in the Web database of Science and (or) having a CiteScore percentile in the Scopus database of at least 50 (fifty) for the specified publications in the selected scientific and technical assignment;

8) publication of at least 20 (twenty) articles based on research results in journals recommended by the Committee on Quality Assurance of Higher Education and Science;

9) at least 3 (three) patents in foreign patent offices (European, American, Japanese) or at least 1 (one) foreign or international patents included in the Derwent Innovations Index database (Web of Science , Clarivate Analytics) or at least 5 (five) objects of intellectual property (patent; for applications in the field of information technology - author's certificate), registered with the National Institute of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

10)       obtaining an accreditation certificate for the type of activity carried out by scientific and technical assignments in accordance with the Legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

11)       purchased equipment must be registered on the unified platform of electronic laboratories (e- lab ).

Scientific effect -

Overall, the programme is expected to have the following impacts on science and technology, related to social and economic benefits:

- development of applied science in the field of water management, agricultural and processing industries through the creation of new technologies;

- creation of a regional scientific school on water management;

- implementation of research orders from enterprises;

- visualization and public dissemination of complex scientific research results in a user-friendly web-based GIS interface that will allow researchers, students, water managers and stakeholders to access information related to river basin water systems will increase by 10% per year;

- creation of models of future scenarios for the state of water resources in the context of climate change and water use in the year under orders 1-3;

- forecasting the availability of water resources of quality necessary for the development of sustainable programs in the field of water use for agriculture and drinking water supply.

- improvement of soil cultivation technology taking into account the specifics of the crop being grown, aimed at saving water resources;

- development of resource-saving technologies for year-round use of land resources, i.e. increasing the area of cultivation of agricultural crops in order to minimize the use of water and mineral resources;

- development of innovative scientific content in the field of water management, agriculture, food industry and light industry;

- improving the quality of training of scientific personnel, will provide the opportunity for high-quality scientific research, and will increase the number of projects being implemented;

- development of the motivational aspect of students, interest in the field of scientific knowledge related to the development of innovative food products, inventions in the field of processing industries, professions in the food and processing sector.

Economic effect –

The scientific and practical results obtained during the implementation of the program should ensure high efficiency of the work of commodity producers, promote close integration of scientific, technical and production resources of the region, obtain new products and materials for import substitution , and increase the competitiveness of domestic commodity producers.

Social effect –

The results are expected to provide a new and practical approach to the combined use of surface and ground water resources in transboundary catchments of Central Asian countries through the use of geoinformation methods, modeling tools and ensuring the participation of local stakeholders in the entire process. Successful implementation of the program should contribute to meeting the population's need for high-quality, safe products such as drinking water, food, light industry goods, reduce the cost of agricultural products available to wide groups of the population and provide them with environmentally friendly, nutritious and balanced nutrition.

Ecological effect –

 The use of the obtained research results should ensure the efficient and rational use of water and land resources of the agro-industrial complex, improve the ecological state of the region and promote the sustainable functioning of the ecosystem.

Target consumers of the obtained results : the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, government agencies and organizations, enterprises engaged in water management, agricultural and processing industries, local executive bodies, research organizations, higher education institutions, scientists.

5. The maximum amount of the program (for the entire period of the program and by year, in thousands of tenge) is 3,500,000 thousand tenge, including by year:

for 2024 – 500,000 thousand tenge;

for 2025 – 1,500,000 thousand tenge;

for 2026 – 1,500,000 thousand tenge.