Why is climate-smart agriculture?

For ‘weather smart’ agriculture

There is a want to reconsider strength and fertiliser subsidies and reorient MSP and procurement regulations in the direction of minimising GHG emissions

India has stored away from the latest EU-US pledge to shrink methane emissions with the aid of using 30 according to cent with the aid of using 2030, in spite of the united states being the arena’s 0.33 biggest emitter of methane. (Illustration: C R Sasi kumar)

In the backdrop of the 2070 carbon neutrality goal set with the aid of using India on the CoP26 in Glasgow, the Union Budget for 2022-23 has listed “weather action” and “strength transition” as one of the 4 priorities for the Amrit Kaal. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made some bulletins on this context, which include an extra allocation of Rs 19,500 crore for sun PV modules. She additionally talked of co-firing of 5-7 according to cent of biomass pellets in thermal strength plants, “sovereign inexperienced bonds” and a “battery-swapping policy”. These are superb steps in the direction of making the strength and shipping sectors much less polluting.

Her bulletins on agriculture, however, have been alternatively limited. Agriculture contributes seventy three according to cent of the united states’s methane emissions. India has stored away from the latest EU-US pledge to shrink methane emissions with the aid of using 30 according to cent with the aid of using 2030, in spite of the united states being the arena’s 0.33 biggest emitter of methane. The FM did communicate of chemical-unfastened herbal farming in a five-km extensive hall alongside the river Ganga, help for millets, and accelerated home manufacturing of oilseeds and kisan drones. These are welcome steps. But they do now no longer guarantee us that the environmental harm already wrought with the aid of using the world may be undone. The harm is essentially a end result of the diverse types of subsidies — on urea, canal irrigation and strength for irrigation — in addition to the minimal help prices (MSP) and procurement regulations targeting some states and in large part on  plants, rice, and wheat.

We additionally understand that as of January 1, the shares of wheat and rice in the united states’s valuable pool have been 4 instances better than the buffer stocking requirement. In fact, rice shares with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are seven instances the buffer norms for rice. This is in spite of the report distribution of rice in the PDS and report exports of rice (17.7MMT) in 2020-21. The economic fee of those immoderate grain shares is Rs 2.14 lakh crore, of which Rs 1.66 lakh crore is due to extra rice shares — as according to the monetary price of rice and wheat given with the aid of using the FCI. Interestingly, the Economic Survey 2021-22 offers an monetary price of rice and wheat better than that mentioned with the aid of using FCI. If one makes use of the survey’s figures, the fee of extra shares jumps to Rs 2.56 lakh crore, with rice accounting for about Rs 2 lakh crore.

All this doesn't simply mirror inefficient use of scarce capital, the quantity of greenhouse gases (GHG) embedded in those shares is likewise large. As according to the countrywide GHG inventory, the agriculture zone emits 408 MMT of carbon-dioxide equal and rice cultivation is the 0.33 maximum source (17.five according to cent) of GHG emissions in Indian agriculture after enteric fermentation (54.6 according to cent) and fertiliser use (19 according to cent). Paddy fields are anthropogenic sources of atmospheric nitrous oxide and methane, that have been reckoned as 273 and 80-eighty three instances extra effective than carbon dioxide in using temperature growth in 20 years’ (Sixth Assessment Report IPCC 2021). The quantity of methane emitted from paddy fields of India is 3.396 teragram according to 12 months or 71.32 MMT carbon dioxide equal. Two crucial factors want to be stated here: First, India does now no longer file nitrous oxide emissions in its countrywide GHG inventories. There is clinical proof that intermittent flooding reduces water and methane emissions however will increase nitrous oxide emissions. Thus, reducing of methane emissions via managed irrigation does now no longer always imply internet low emissions. Second, emissions because of burning rice residues, utility of fertilisers, manufacturing of fertilisers for rice, strength operations like harvesting, pumps, processing, transportation aren't accounted for in the GHG emissions in rice manufacturing.

A have a look at with the aid of using Vetter et al. (2017) used the Cool Farm Tool (CFT) version to estimate annual GHG emissions with the aid of using plants from manufacturing to the farm gate. It mentioned emissions of five.sixty five kg carbon dioxide equal of GHG according to kg of rice. Moreover, paddy fields require approximately 4,000 cubic metres of water according to tonne of rice for irrigation. Even if 1/2 of of that percolates again to groundwater, extra shares of forty six MMT of rice embed approximately ninety two billion cubic meters of water in addition to 260 MMT of carbon dioxide equal. According to the IMF, the arena wishes a carbon tax of $ seventy five according to tonne with the aid of using 2030 to lessen emissions to a stage constant with a 2 diploma Celsius warming goal. India does now no longer have an express carbon-charge yet, however many nations have all started to put into effect carbon pricing. Sweden leads the % with a carbon charge as excessive as $137 according to tonne of carbon dioxide equal even as EU is at $50/tonne of carbon dioxide equal. It is excessive time for India to announce indicative carbon pricing and create a colourful carbon marketplace to incentivise inexperienced boom in Amrit Kaal.

The Economic Survey 2021-22 factors out that the united states is over-exploiting its floor water resource (see map), specifically in the northwest and a few components of south India. This is on the whole because of paddy cultivation on forty four million hectares. This has helped India obtain meals security, however it’s time now to store groundwater and the environment. This requires revisiting regulations to subsidise strength and fertilisers, MSP and procurement and reorient them in the direction of minimising GHG emissions. Farmer businesses and the personal zone may be mobilised to broaden carbon markets in agriculture, each on the countrywide and worldwide degrees, that could praise farmers in coins for switching from carbon-extensive plants including rice to low-carbon-extensive plants or enhancing farming practices in rice structures to decrease GHG emissions. Such a pass in the direction of “internet-zero” agriculture will provide India a “weather smart” agriculture in Amrit Kaal. And, if we are able to shield productiveness degrees with a low-carbon footprint, it'll assist India to get right of entry to international markets too.