On March 19, Alexey Ivanov, Director of the BRICS Competition Centre, Director of the HSE Centre for Technology Transfer, held a meeting with Murat Temirzhanov, Chairman of the Committee for Land Resources Management of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The parties discussed the current development of the carbon farming industry in Kazakhstan and the prospects for joint projects.
Murat Temirazhnev spoke about the latest initiatives of the Committee on handling degraded lands in the country. Currently, around 30 million hectares of land are affected by degradation and other negative processes. Nearly 25 million hectares are subject to wind erosion, while another 5 million hectares are impacted by water erosion. To address the issue of degraded lands, the committee has established a unified soil cluster service that conducts geobotanical surveys of the affected areas. Additionally, a digital agricultural map has been developed, providing objective information about the location, area, and quality condition of agricultural lands.
In photo: Murat Temirzhanov © HSE
It should be recalled that last November, speaking at the COP 29 World Leaders Climate Action Summit, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the importance of transition to sustainable agriculture. As noted in his speech, Kazakhstan, with 200 million hectares of agricultural land, is an ideal platform for implementing “carbon farming.”
At the same COP29 conference, the BRICS Centre, in collaboration with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the TALAP Center for Applied Research, organized a roundtable titled "Carbon farming in Kazakhstan: Unlocking Opportunities," with the support of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Ecology. During the discussion, Murat Temirzhanov emphasized the importance of active government involvement in the development of carbon farming:
“Currently, carbon removal technologies through carbon farming are unable to deliver the required volume of CO2 sequestration due to their underdevelopment and insufficient funding. For the system to work and for the forecasted targets to be met within the expected timeline, a roadmap for the development of carbon farming — at least its first draft — must be created and ratified now. This is essential for the market to understand the direction regulators and other market players are heading."
In photo: Alexey Ivanov
Alexey Ivanov highlights:
"We have been working on exploring the potential for the development of carbon farming in Kazakhstan since 2022. Dozens of meetings, roundtables, and discussions have been held on various platforms, involving a wide range of experts. Last year, our international research team published a report titled “Carbon Farming in Kazakhstan: Unlocking Opportunities,” which sparked even closer cooperation with Kazakhstan's government authorities. We proposed a set of specific measures that could serve as the foundation for Kazakhstan's roadmap for the development of carbon farming. The work of the Committee for Land Resources Management of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan is impressive, and I look forward to many exciting projects ahead in collaboration with our colleagues."
During his visit to Kazakhstan, Alexey also met with the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin and Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev.
© HSE
