The man who stood at the origins

On the day of the spring equinox, March 21, 2021, a colleague, a scientist-agronomist in the field of soil science and agrochemistry, doctor of biological sciences, professor, academician of All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Ivanovich Kiryushin will celebrate 80 years.

Valery Ivanovich devoted his whole life to science and the strongest influence on the formation him as a scientist, was exerted by virgin lands and joint work with academician A.I.  Barayev.  His formation as a scientist and the first major scientific achievements started during the years of work at the All-Union Research Institute for Grain Farming under the leadership of the outstanding scientist A.I.  Barayev.  He gained a degree of candidate and doctor of sciences. In 1964-1980, V. Kiryushin headed the institute, first the laboratory, then the department of soil science and was one of the closest associates of Alexander Ivanovich Barayev in the development and promotion of a soil-protective system of agriculture throughout the country.

It is worth to note that V.I.  Kiryushin developed a theory of adaptive landscape farming and a methodology for designing agricultural landscapes based on GIS agroecological assessment and land typology.  Under his leadership, masters of agriculture are trained in agro-ecological assessment of lands and design of agricultural landscapes, projects are being developed for adaptive landscape agriculture and science-intensive agricultural technologies for agricultural enterprises.

He is the author of the theory of adaptive landscape agriculture, methodology for the design of science-intensive agricultural technologies, adaptable to various agro-ecological conditions.  He is developer of the system of agricultural land typology and agroecological classification and the founder of the progressive scientific school of agriculture.  He developed a theory of the origin of low sodium saline land in Northern Kazakhstan and an optimal farming system on saline soils.  In practice, he proved a reduction in the loss of humus on the chernozems of Northern Kazakhstan when replacing plowing with a flat-cutting system, as well as using the Maltsev system on leached chernozems of the Trans-Urals.  A number of works are devoted to the soil protection system of agriculture and the minimization of soil cultivation.

V. Kiryushin is the founder of the scientific school of adaptive landscape agriculture and has trained 15 doctors, 17 candidates of sciences and 1 doctor of PhD.  He published about 393 scientific papers.  He is author and co-author of about 360 scientific publications (including 8 monographs).

Scientists of the Scientific Center for Grain Farming highly appreciate in their esteemed colleague Valery Ivanovich his constant readiness for cooperation and are grateful for his interested, active participation in the preparation and implementation of joint international projects aimed at expanding long-term scientific relations of Russia and Kazakhstan.

We sincerely wish him and his loved ones good health, happiness, prosperity, joy and inexhaustible life energy. We wish him a long life full of happiness!

Serekpayev Nurlan Amangeldiyevich,

Chairman of the Board of A.I.BaraevSPCGF LLP.