ERA-FDC KUR: Exploring Agriculture’s Potential for Food Production, Rural Development, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: a Case study for Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia

Description

Widespread areas of abandoned agricultural lands are located in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia (KUR). However, it remains largely unstudied whether abandoned lands should be recultivated to ensure stable food supply, particularly considering projections of increasing climatic ensitivity of the southern breadbasket regions in Russia. Little is also known about the potential of regions with large abandoned land areas to sequester carbon in agriculture and in this way counteract the global warming.In our multidisciplinary research project, we examine agriculture potential in KUR to meet the triple challenge: increase food production, foster rural development, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. To this end, the project will (i) assess impacts of recent land use changes and technological progress on climatic sensitivity of agriculture in three study countries and generate updated climate change impact projections at the national and regional levels; (ii) model and simulate carbon sequestration and CO2 emissions for different land use scenarios; (iii) examine economic effectiveness of alternative land use options for selected study regions; and (iv) identify policy measures for increased adoption of sustainableland use practices based on stakeholder involvement and assessment of farmers´ attitudes and preferences.