The article presents the scientific results of a study for the assessment of agricultural land in Zhambyl region of the Republic of Kazakhstan based on field studies in 2020-2021 and modern GIS technologies. The purpose of the study of the article is a comprehensive assessment of land resources used for agricultural production in Zhambyl region, identifying the prevailing areas of agricultural land, irrigated and rainfed pastures by administrative districts of the region. In the course of the scientific study, proven Kazakhstani methods of assessing the state of agricultural land, successfully applied to the arid agricultural regions of Kazakhstan, as well as methods of geographical and agricultural sciences for land analysis and calculation according to the structure of use, were used. Based on the statistical data of the Committee of Land Resources and preliminary regional plans, a map of the land fund of the Zhambyl region by land categories was created. The results of the study allow business entities, especially farms, to organize the rational use of irrigated lands, including pastures and hayfields, including the sustainability and profitability of agricultural production, as well as successfully develop agro-landscape tourism.

The most important task of sustainable development of Zhambyl region of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the restoration and preservation of the productivity of 9236.1 thousand hectares of agricultural land, which are exposed to degradation to various extent. 3139,9 thousand hectares of agricultural land are exposed to very strong degradation in the region, represented by sources of irrigated arable land with secondary salinization of soil, presence of water and wind erosion, and grazed-up pastures. The related social and economic strain in the region entails further decline in the living standard of the rural population and a decline in the level of agricultural production. The introduction of private land ownership and the emergence of new forms of husbandry in Kazakhstan resulted in a significant change in the spatial structure and functional development of agricultural land in the region under study. The use of land in Zhambyl region for agricultural development is based mainly on financial, economic and organizational mechanisms, while the problem of environmental effects of their transformation remains in abeyance, which resulted in the formation of an extensive, unprofitable agricultural production exposed to negative anthropogenic and environmental factors, resulting in the need to create agricultural land management strategy. The agricultural land management strategy of Zhambyl region of the Republic of Kazakhstan was developed on the basis of natural and agricultural, socio-economic, regulatory and nature protection indicators that reflect the priority activities to achieve sustainable use of agricultural land. At all stages of the development of the strategy, methodological developments and regulatory criteria adapted to the conditions of agricultural nature management were applied. The developed agricultural land management strategy is focused on the predominance of environmental priorities in land use, as a result of which agricultural land use will become cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and mutually beneficial.