One of the major global problems that the world is facing today is that of global warming. It’s mainly due to the greenhouse gas emissions from various sources. Here arises a question that can agriculture be one of the major reasons for it. Surprisingly, the answer is Yes.
From the past few decades, carbon footprints in agriculture have been increasing. According to research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agricultural ecosystems contribute to more than 30% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. There are many sources, say, use of fuels on the farmer’s field, land clearance and production, consumption of food materials, woods use of livestock, etc.
Another major source of carbon release on farmland is soil management. The use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, tillage, irrigation all contribute to the release of greenhouse gas emissions such as nitrous oxides and carbon dioxide. The release of methane from fields flooded with water in rice cultivation is another example.
The need of the hour is to reduce carbon footprints and Carbon Neutral Agriculture takes a big step forward towards the goal. First, stress needs to be laid on the utilization of renewable sources of energy and minimizing the usage of conventional fossil fuels. The Government has launched various schemes such as PM KUSUM for utilizing solar energy and PARAMPARAGAT KRISHI VIKAS YOJANA promoting organic agriculture in India.
Carbon sequestration is another method of reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Forests are the major carbon sinks therefore afforestation can help in conserving carbon and reducing greenhouse emissions. The use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain help reduce the time and simultaneously make the supply chain more effective by replacing the traditional methods of utilizing a large amount of energy.
Soil Management can be improvised to minimize carbon footprints. Use of appropriate doses of fertilizers, reducing tillage operations, shifting towards organic agriculture, minimizing irrigation losses such as the adoption of micro-irrigation systems, utilizing the indigenous technical knowledge of farmers for pest control and weed control are some small efforts that can have a great impact on a global scale. We need to make our farming systems more sustainable so that the upcoming generations do not face a food crisis. For this, maximum application of renewable sources needs to be done as they are the clean sources of energy. With the increasing global concerns on climate change and its severe impact on human health, more than 110 other countries, have pledged carbon neutrality by 2050 and India has set this target to 2070. Carbon Neutral Agriculture is the top-notch solution to achieve this goal.
