The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan held a board meeting chaired by Minister Aidarbek Saparov to discuss measures aimed at preventing land degradation, combating soil erosion and strengthening land monitoring systems.
The meeting brought together representatives of the Ministry’s subordinate organizations, regional authorities, land management institutions and relevant government agencies.
Opening the session, the Minister emphasized that land resources are a strategic asset for ensuring the country’s food security. Kazakhstan currently has 117.7 million hectares of agricultural land in use, including 26.5 million hectares of cropland, 83.9 million hectares of pastures and 2.4 million hectares of hayfields.
At the same time, land degradation remains a significant challenge due to both natural and human-induced factors. Kazakhstan continues implementing comprehensive measures aimed at restoring degraded lands and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in line with its commitments under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov presented the results of ongoing reforms in the national land monitoring system. According to the updated assessments conducted by the State Institute for Land Survey and Research (GIPROZem), electronic land degradation maps have been updated for 53.5 million hectares.
The assessments indicate that approximately 2.7 million hectares, or about 5 percent of the surveyed territory, are currently affected by land degradation.
The nationwide assessment of all 182 million hectares of agricultural land is expected to be completed by 2029.
An important milestone in strengthening soil protection will be the adoption of the draft Law on Soil Protection, currently under consideration by Parliament. The legislation proposes mandatory agrochemical soil assessments every three to five years, the introduction of digital land passports and the full digitalization of land commission procedures.
Chairman of the Committee for Land Resources Management Murat Temirzhanov reported that Kazakhstan has already achieved 100 percent digital mapping of agricultural lands. Detailed digital maps of croplands, pastures and hayfields have been created and will serve as the foundation for future digital land governance.
The next phase includes the development of a Unified Digital Platform for Land Resources Management. By 2027, artificial intelligence technologies are expected to be integrated into the platform to automatically identify unused lands, detect degraded areas, monitor erosion and salinization processes and improve crop productivity forecasting.
The Ministry is also developing a soil carbon monitoring system, which will support tracking carbon dynamics in soils, improving land productivity and attracting green investments into the agricultural sector.
In parallel, efforts continue to recover improperly used agricultural land. Since 2022, 15 million hectares have been returned to state ownership, while 11.3 million hectares have already been redistributed for productive use. These measures have helped reduce the national pasture deficit to 3.5 million hectares.
Following the meeting, the Ministry instructed regional authorities to accelerate implementation of the Roadmap for Combating Soil Erosion, improve pasture management and ensure the effective use of recovered agricultural lands.
The ongoing reforms in land restoration, digital monitoring and sustainable land management are expected to strengthen food security and enhance the resilience of Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector to climate challenges.
📍 Source: Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan
