Food constitutes the first and one of the most fundamental needs of the human beings. No nation can hope to flourish in the environment of political, economic or social stability without securing ample and nutritious food for its population. It is the agriculture which fulfils the basic need of the human existence, as it naturally assumes a place of vital importance in the world economy. The development of the agriculture cannot be carried out without proper utilization of the land. Land is very important natural resource and it is the orifice of the horn of the plenty through which nature poured her gifts and is the main source of food. An analysis of the land resources, it is utilization; distribution and the extent are of permanent importance for the sustainable agricultural development. The present paper attempts to assess the spatial land use pattern and changes in the land use in Kazakhstan. Since land use is dynamic process and the humanized form of the earth surface, it keeps on changing with the change in economic returns, agro-climatic conditions, conservation strategies, farm programmes and environmental regulations. Kazakhstan experiences a change in land use through varying degree of intensity across its different oblasts (administrative division). The study is based on secondary source of data. A multifaceted analysis is carried out in order to analyse the extent as well as direction of change. The analysis of the data reveals that agriculture land contributes a major share in the land use in Kazakhstan (32.65% in 2008 and 34.28 percent in 2012). Other major share in the land use has been taken up by pastures. Major land use changes was observed in fallow land, forest cover, water bodies and other lands which have shown a negative change from 2009 to 2012.
Agricultural development, land use, Dynamics, Productivity
