Efforts of authorized state bodies and volunteers in the Merken district of the Zhambyl region have mowed wild hemp crops on 580 hectares out of the total 19,000 hectares in the district. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The supervisory authority clarified that the 376 tons of hemp collected from this area were burned.
"Under the coordination of the Merken district prosecutor's office with the participation of authorized state bodies, since June 2026, a set of measures to identify and destroy wild hemp has been carried out in the district as part of the operational-preventive operation 'Karasora – 2026'. The total area of wild hemp growth in the district is about 19 thousand hectares... As of today, on an area of 580 hectares, 376 tons of wild hemp have been mowed and destroyed by burning," the statement said.
Thus, the actual yield of wild hemp averaged 6.5 centners per hectare.
To carry out the work, along with members of the working group, 28 volunteers from 14 rural districts were involved, and the necessary special equipment was also used.
According to the prosecutor's office, work to destroy wild hemp is carried out in the district on a systematic basis and is one of the important measures to prevent illicit drug trafficking.
"The comprehensive preventive work being carried out helps reduce the level of drug crime. Thus, for 7 months of 2025, 45 drug crimes were registered, while for the same period this year – 28, which indicates a decrease of 37.8%," the supervisory authority reported.
The main goals of the measures are to prevent drug crimes, suppress illicit drug trafficking, ensure public safety, and protect the younger generation from the harmful effects of drugs.
The regional prosecutor's office reminded that illegal cultivation, storage, transportation, sale and other actions related to illicit drug trafficking entail liability provided for by the legislation of Kazakhstan.
The capital-based company Leodar planned to grow and process industrial hemp in the North Kazakhstan region – the project cost was estimated at $150 million by the Ministry of Agriculture. The land plot for it will be 26.4 thousand hectares, including 25 thousand hectares of arable land and 1.4 thousand hectares of pastures, but the company has still not submitted documents for land registration and was also looking for sources of financing. The project should be export-oriented.
The head and sole owner of Leodar is Alibek Kasymov. In 2025, Vice Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov reported plans to launch a project in the North Kazakhstan region to produce paper from industrial hemp. According to him, the investor was choosing a land plot for the project and studying technologies.