Abstract. The article presents the scientific and production activity in the Caspian Research Institute of Arid Agriculture and the importance of arid science in shaping effective conservation agriculture in the harsh soil and climatic conditions of semi-arid zone of the Caspian sea. The authors outline the main developments of the Institute in the sphere of irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, ecology and rational nature management, horticulture and viticulture, economics of agriculture, which contribute to the preservation, restoration and rational use of the complex according to its climatic conditions for cultivation of agricultural crops of the area, in the zone of risky agriculture, where yields are very unstable, and the cultivation of almost all crops is possible only by means of irrigation.

Key words: Caspian Research Institute of Arid Agriculture, arid climate, rational nature management, irrigated agriculture, horticulture, adaptive agriculture.