Emphasis was placed on improving the technical base of agriculture through preferential leasing of machinery and equipment. A state agency, KazAgroFinance, was created in 1999 to implement this programme. This period was also marked by efforts to create a new system of agricultural and rural credit. The Agrarian Credit Corporation was created in 2001 with the objective to develop a nation-wide network of Credit Partnerships and to act as a wholesale lender to these associations.