13th International "Greenhouses. Vegetable Growing. Irrigation. Fertilisers and Flowers" Exhibition

On 5–7 April 2023, Almaty's Atakent Exhibition Centre hosted the 13th International "Greenhouses. Vegetable Growing. Irrigation. Fertilisers and Flowers" exhibition. The exhibition was organised by the Kazakhstan Greenhouse Association. It was held with the official support of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Agrarian Credit Corporation JSC, the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, the DAMU Fund and the Almaty City Akimat.

Speakers at the official opening ceremony included Mayor of Westland Bouke Arends, Deputy Akim of Almaty Region Arslan Dandybayev, and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Netherlands for Central Asia Nout van Woudenberg.

The first day of the exhibition featured three panel sessions: "Sustainable Greenhouses," "Seeds and Plant Protection as a Key Factor for a Profitable Greenhouse Business," and "Financial Instruments for the Greenhouse Sector."

The first panel session featured presentations from representatives of Dutch companies Van der Hoeven, Kubo, Dalsem, Certhon, MjTech, Signify, Hortilux, Viscon, Boal, Ridder and Svensson, who shared their experience and spoke about new trends in building advanced greenhouses. International agricultural expert Johan Schoonemaker spoke on sustainable and efficient energy solutions for creating greenhouse climates.

The second session featured presentations by Dutch companies such as Koppert, Rijk Zwaan, De Ruiter and others, who presented their solutions for developing greenhouse farming.

During the final session, representatives of quasi-state institutions gave participants information about state subsidy and preferential lending programmes for business through the Agrarian Credit Corporation, KIDF and DAMU. Kees Kuilman, Director of the EBRD's agribusiness department, presented EBRD grant programmes supporting the greenhouse business.

At the end of the event, an official gala dinner was organised, giving exhibition participants and guests the chance to talk in an informal setting.