The role of youth and women in implementing the inclusive concept of agrarian sector reform in Kazakhstan

Under the conditions of transformation of Kazakhstan’s agrarian sector, the development of inclusive agriculture, ensuring equal access for rural residents to resources, technologies, and markets, has become a priority. Rising production costs, shortages of financial instruments, and territorial imbalances are forcing small and medium-sized farms out of value chains, thereby weakening the sector’s sustainability. An inclusive approach aimed at increasing the participation of young people and women is capable of revitalizing the rural economy, ensuring food security, and promoting the rational use of natural resources.

The objective is to assess the role of youth and rural women in the development of the republic’s agrarian sector and to develop measures for establishing an inclusive development model.

Methods – an analysis of the functioning of the AIC for the period 2010–2025, monitoring of the participation of young specialists and women, assessment of access to financial resources, as well as an econometric study covering 2010–2022 using statistical and regression methods to identify the socio-economic factors influencing agricultural production.

Results – the study demonstrates that the agricultural market faces a number of systemic challenges, particularly affecting small-scale producers, including women and young people. The principal barriers remain limited access to financial resources, infrastructural and logistical disparities, and the low level of innovation adoption and cooperative development. Additional constraints are associated with institutional mechanisms, including difficulties in accessing government support and insufficient integration into production and marketing networks.

Conclusions – the necessity of increasing the participation of youth and women is substantiated, provided that effective government regulation is implemented, including subsidies, preferential lending, professional training, and the use of digital platforms. Without their contribution, the agrarian sector risks stagnation, which would lead to rural depopulation and increased dependence on food imports. 

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