Attendance of Seminar "Sustainable Development of Agriculture under the Conditions of Climate Change", hosted by the German-Kazakh Agro-Political Dialogue

On Oct. 23-24., the German-Kazakh Agro-Political Dialogue hosted a seminar on "Sustainable Development of Agriculture under the Conditions of Climate Change" in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana).

The Agro-Political Dialogue is a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture that has been pursuing the objective of intensifying the political and economic cooperation between the German and Kazakh agrarian sectors since October 2009. The APD, therefore, works closely together with the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture and supports the Kazakh partners in creating an agro-political framework that allows for enhanced use of the country's agricultural potential. Today, more than ever, further development of agriculture requires the consideration of imminent challenges related to climate change and protection. 

• Prof. Dr. Georg Guggenberger is head of the Institute of Soil Science at Leibniz University Hannover; among his research priorities is the influence of changes in land use and climate on soil organic matter.
• Dr. Robert Bierkandt has been an expert for the Centre of International Migration and Development at the Kyrgyz meteorological service Kyrgyzhydromet since 2017. At the same time, he is involved in a GIZ-Project on sustainable resource consumption throughout Central Asia. Part of his work is to model various climate change scenarios for Kyrgyzstan, based on which he develops region-specific strategies or measures of adaptation.
• Anton Hübl is head of the Department EU Agricultural Policy and International Relations Bavarian State Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forestry.
• Saken Baischolanow, head scientific fellow at the International Science Complex Astana
• Erlan Sydikow, expert at the consulting firm Talap, which provides advice to GEF-, CIF- and Climate Adaptation Fund projects

Judith Kons, head of the department of Eastern Europe, Central and East Asia, Extension at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture opened the event with an introductory greeting of all participants. A meeting with her and Jörg Dinkelaker, APD project leader since 2018, provided room for fruitful exchange about project activities of German ministries and potentials for syngergies (e. g. between CASIB and APD).