A year ago, in 2024, the Metzer Kazakhstan plant opened in Kazakhstan, producing a product that may be somewhat obscure to the general public but is well-known among agronomists – drip tubing for irrigation systems. The plant has two founders: a global player with Israeli roots, Metzerplas, and Kazakhstani Murat Akshalov.
Why This Matters, Not Just for Farmers
In August 2023, authorities declared a state of emergency in six districts of the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan due to drought. During that "abnormally hot" summer, nearly four hundred farmers lost part of their harvest, necessitating the allocation of funds from the government's emergency reserve, which was estimated to be 3.76 billion tenge.
This is far from the only example of difficulties arising from a lack of irrigation water: for Kazakhstan, this is one of the most pressing issues. In the south and southeast of the country, problems are largely related to geography. The Zhambyl region depends on rivers flowing from Kyrgyzstan, which originate in Tajikistan. The Turkestan region receives moisture from Uzbekistan, but they themselves also need this resource (for instance, fields in the Fergana Valley require irrigation, drawing water from the Amu Darya). The Almaty region is "at the mercy" of mountain glaciers: little snow in winter means little water in summer, and there may not be enough for irrigation.
Crop loss not only results in financial losses for farmers and the state but also poses a risk to the country's food security.
How to Solve the Problem
Akshalov refers to drip irrigation as "one of the key solutions" to reduce dependence on irrigation water. At Metzer Kazakhstan, they cite data indicating that this technology saves water by 20-50% compared to furrow irrigation, and fertilizers are needed in 30-40% lesser amounts compared to spraying (through drip tubes, not only can irrigation be conducted, but also fertilizers and plant protection agents can be applied). Additionally, the time spent on plant treatment and labor costs are reduced.
The Market is Ready for New Solutions
According to Akshalov, experiments with drip irrigation technology in Kazakhstan date back to the Soviet era, but widespread application was not achieved then. The market began to "heat up" only in the 2010s. "In 2014-2015, we started actively implementing this technology here," says the interviewee. Currently, he notes that the Kazakh market has a lot of drip tubing from Turkey, China, and Iran, but mainly from Russia. There are also a couple of local manufacturers. The market has changed compared to what it was ten years ago, and so have the agrarians. Farmers, according to the interviewee, are now more interested in using water-saving technologies than they were a decade ago. The businessman attributes this to "economics" (land prices are rising, costs are increasing) and administrative influence (the government encourages farmers to adopt water-saving technologies).
A Plant with a $5.5 Million Investment
Ten years ago, Akshalov started by selling the finished products of his senior Israeli partner in Kazakhstan. However, at some point, due to the increased volume of supplies, logistics and customs procedures became too costly (as the goods were transported from Israel through Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan). The head office decided to establish its own production in the region and chose Kazakhstan instead of Russia or Uzbekistan, where the market is larger. But with an essential condition : the plant must export products to nearby markets.
Akshalov secured funding from a bank – $5.5 million and built the Metzer Kazakhstan plant in the Almaty industrial zone. Today, the enterprise, with an annual turnover of $9-10 million, supplies products to the domestic market and is gradually exploring foreign territories – Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia.
Journalists from Forbes Kazakhstan visited the production facility and learned how drip tubing is made, whether the "business of water drops" has paid off, and how the Kazakh producer withstands competition in the saturated Russian market. Read Murat Akshalov's business story in the March issue of Forbes Kazakhstan.