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Abstract

This research examines how farming practices and strategies change within the context of ambiguous institutional settings, market volatility and climate change. Qazaqstan’s land rights landscape is characterized by significant discrepancies between legal frameworks and actual practices, particularly affecting agricultural access and ownership. Therefore, the research focuses on identifying how farmers in the rural Zhetysu region of Qazaqstan identify opportunities and addresses challenges in the face of uncertainty and high transaction costs. Situated within the anthropology of economic institutions and entrepreneurship, the paper is based on empirical material from 4-6 months of fieldwork, and provides a fresh perspective on daily and long-term decision-making by farmers in the region. This ethnographic approach allows for capturing how farmers interpret institutional rules in practice and how everyday economic decisions are shaped by both formal regulations and informal social relations within rural communities. Based on the lived experiences of farmers, the analysis presents the state of the art on property rights, gender and labour relations, access to capital and technology, as well as market and climate risks.