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Climate Change

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main drive of climate changes, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

The main greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. clearing land and cutting down forests can also release carbon dioxide. Agriculture, oil and gas operations are major sources of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main sectors causing greenhouse gases.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the practice of cultivating plants and keeping livestock in order to provide facilities to human beings. In the rise of the sedentary human lifestyle agriculture was the key development. The cultivation of plant and food grains began years ago in order to provide food to the city population. Agriculture is the main need for the people to live in the society. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood; it provides a source for the people to earn. Most of the population in the rural areas is dependent on agriculture as their main source of income.

Agriculture contributes significantly to a country’s GDP that is the Gross Domestic Production of a country. By the passing of time, there are a number of revolutions that take place in order to improve agriculture throughout the world or a country. If we talk about agriculture, India has witnessed a number of revolutions, that is, the green revolution, yellow revolution, blue revolution, agriculture. Agriculture affects the biodiversity of a country depending on the agricultural activities.

A Complex and Interdependent Relationship between Agriculture and Climate

Agriculture is one of the most important human activities, as it provides food, fiber, and livelihoods for billions of people. However, agriculture is also one of the most vulnerable and impactful sectors when it comes to climate change. Climate change affects agriculture in many ways, from altering the patterns of rainfall and temperature, to increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, to shifting the distribution and severity of pests and diseases. At the same time, agriculture contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and land degradation, which in turn exacerbate climate change. Therefore, understanding and addressing the relationship between agriculture and climate is crucial for ensuring food security, environmental sustainability, and human well-being.

How climate change affects agriculture

Effects on crops

• Reduced yields and quality: Rising temperatures, heatwaves, and variable rainfall lower the yields of staple crops like maize, rice, and wheat, particularly in hotter regions. Studies show that maize is particularly sensitive to heat stress during pollination, which can severely reduce productivity.
• Altered growing seasons: Longer frost-free seasons can alter the timing of planting and harvesting. While this could potentially allow for more crop cycles in some areas, it also creates more demand for irrigation during longer, hotter growing periods.
• Increased pests and disease: Warmer winters and weather extremes can expand the range and breeding cycles of crop pests, weeds, and pathogens. For example, fungal diseases like wheat rusts and soybean rust are moving further north.
• Reduced nutritional value: While higher atmospheric CO levels can increase crop growth in some plants, this “fertilization effect” can also reduce the protein, iron, and zinc content in some staple foods. This may require individuals to consume more food to get the same nutrients.

Effects on livestock

• Heat stress: High temperatures can cause heat stress in livestock, leading to reduced appetite, lower growth rates, and decreased milk and egg production. This significantly burdens livestock producers with financial losses.
• Reproductive issues: Thermal stress can impair animal reproduction by affecting fertility and causing embryonic mortality, particularly in cattle.
• Disrupted feed supply: Changes in weather patterns and extreme events like droughts can affect the quantity and quality of forage and other feed crops. This leads to nutritional stress and higher feed costs for animals.
• Increased disease risk: Warmer, wetter conditions can increase the prevalence and spread of animal diseases, including vector-borne illnesses carried by biting flies and ticks.

Effects on land and water resources

• Soil degradation: Heavy rainfall and extreme weather contribute to soil erosion, which washes away nutrient-rich topsoil and degrades fertility.
• Water scarcity and contamination: Changes in precipitation patterns can lead to both droughts and more intense rainfall. Droughts cause water scarcity, reducing the water available for irrigation and livestock. Heavy rains can cause runoff, carrying agricultural pollutants and fertilizers into water bodies and harming water quality.
• Sea level rise: For coastal agricultural communities, rising sea levels pose a threat through land loss from flooding and saltwater intrusion, which contaminates freshwater supplies.

How agriculture affect climate change

Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about 19-29% of total global emissions. The main sources of agricultural emissions are:

• Enteric fermentation: This is the process by which ruminant animals (such as cattle, sheep, and goats) digest plant material in their stomachs and produce methane (CH4) as a by-product. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has a global warming potential (GWP) 28 times higher than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 100-year period. Enteric fermentation accounts for about 40% of total agricultural emissions.
• Manure management: This is the process by which animal waste is collected, stored, treated, or disposed of. Manure management can produce both methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), which are greenhouse gases with GWPs 28 times and 265 times higher than CO2 respectively over a 100-year period. Manure management accounts for about 16% of total agricultural emissions.
• Synthetic fertilizers: These are chemical compounds that provide nutrients (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) to crops. Synthetic fertilizers can emit nitrous oxide (N2O) when they are applied to the soil or when they leach or runoff into water bodies. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas with a GWP 265 times higher than CO2 over a 100-year period. Synthetic fertilizers account for about 13% of total agricultural emissions.
• Rice cultivation: This is the process of growing rice in flooded fields (paddies) that provide optimal conditions for the crop. Rice cultivation can produce methane (CH4) when organic matter decomposes anaerobically (without oxygen) in the waterlogged soil. Methane is a greenhouse gas with a GWP 28 times higher than CO2 over a 100-year period. Rice cultivation accounts for about 10% of total agricultural emissions.
• Burning of crop residues: This is the practice of burning plant materials (such as straw, stubble, leaves, etc.) that remain after harvesting crops. Burning of crop residues can emit carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and other pollutants that contribute to climate change and air pollution. Burning of crop residues accounts for about 5% of total agricultural emissions.
• Land-use change: This is the conversion of natural ecosystems (such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, etc.) to agricultural land (such as cropland, pasture, plantation, etc.) or vice versa. Land-use change can affect the balance of carbon stored in biomass and soil, as well as the albedo (reflectivity) of the land surface. Land-use change can either emit or sequester carbon dioxide (CO2), depending on the type and direction of change. For example, deforestation for agriculture can release large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, while afforestation or reforestation can absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Land-use change accounts for about 12% of total agricultural emissions.

Climate-smart agiculture

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an integrated approach to managing landscapes—cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries—that addresses the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change. CSA aims to simultaneously achieve three outcomes:

• Increased productivity: Produce more and better food to improve nutrition security and boost incomes, especially of 75 percent of the world’s poor who live in rural areas and mainly rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.
• Enhanced resilience: Reduce vulnerability to drought, pests, diseases and other climate-related risks and shocks; and improve capacity to adapt and grow in the face of longer-term stresses like shortened seasons and erratic weather patterns.
• Reduced emissions: Pursue lower emissions for each calorie or kilo of food produced, avoid deforestation from agriculture and identify ways to absorb carbon out of the atmosphere.

There are many practices and technologies that can help achieve these outcomes, depending on the context and objectives of each situation.

• Improved crop varieties: These are crops that have been bred or genetically modified to have higher yields, better quality, or greater tolerance to stress factors such as drought, heat, salinity, pests, and diseases. For example, drought-tolerant maize varieties have been developed and disseminated in sub-Saharan Africa, increasing yields by 20-30% under water-limited conditions.
• Conservation agriculture: This is a system of crop management that involves three principles: minimum soil disturbance (such as no-till or reduced tillage), permanent soil cover (such as mulch or cover crops), and crop rotation or diversification. Conservation agriculture can improve soil health, water retention, nutrient cycling, weed control, and crop productivity, while reducing erosion, runoff, and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Precision agriculture: This is a system of crop management that uses information technology (such as sensors, drones, satellites, GPS, etc.) to monitor and optimize inputs (such as water, fertilizer, pesticides, etc.) according to the spatial and temporal variability of soil and crop conditions. Precision agriculture can increase efficiency, profitability, and sustainability of crop production, while reducing environmental impacts.
• Integrated pest management: This is a system of pest management that combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical methods to prevent or reduce pest damage to crops and livestock. Integrated pest management can reduce the reliance on synthetic pesticides, which can have negative effects on human health and the environment.
• Improved animal breeds: These are animals that have been bred or genetically modified to have higher productivity, better quality, or greater resistance to stress factors such as heat, diseases, parasites, etc. For example, improved dairy cattle breeds have been introduced in Kenya, increasing milk production by 50% per animal.
• Improved feed quality: This is the improvement of the nutritional value and digestibility of animal feed, which can affect the growth, health, and emissions of livestock. For example, adding supplements (such as enzymes, probiotics, or tannins) or alternative feed sources (such as legumes, algae, or insects) to animal feed can reduce methane emissions from enteric fermentation and manure management.
• Improved manure management: This is the improvement of the collection, storage, treatment, or disposal of animal waste, which can affect the emissions and utilization of nutrients and organic matter. For example, anaerobic digestion of manure can produce biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide) that can be used as a source of energy, while reducing methane emissions and producing organic fertilizer.
• Agroforestry: This is the integration of trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock on the same land unit. Agroforestry can provide multiple benefits, such as enhancing soil fertility, water conservation, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and income diversification. For example, planting trees on crop or pasture land can increase crop yields, improve animal welfare, and store carbon in biomass and soil.
• Climate-smart irrigation: This is the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of water use for crop production, which can affect the water availability, crop productivity, and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, drip irrigation can deliver water directly to the root zone of plants, reducing water losses and evaporation, while increasing water use efficiency and crop yields.
• Climate-smart aquaculture: This is the improvement of the management and production of aquatic organisms (such as fish, shellfish, algae, etc.) for food or other purposes, which can affect the water quality, biodiversity, food security, and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) can combine different species that have complementary functions (such as filter feeders, detritivores, herbivores, etc.) in the same system, enhancing nutrient recycling, reducing waste and pollution, and increasing productivity and diversity.

 Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture

Significant changes in weather patterns have resulted from climate change, including temperature swings, an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, and shifting raining patterns. These changes provide a variety of problems for agricultural systems around the world. Temperature increases have an impact on the yield of crops, livestock health, and the spread of pests and illnesses. Droughts, floods, and soil erosion can all be triggered by changes in rainfall patterns, impacting agricultural output and livelihoods.

How Agricultural Practices Contribute to Greenhouse Gas Emission

Agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly through the release of methane and nitrous oxide. In livestock production, especially ruminant animals, they are a high contributor to methane emissions, while the use of synthetic fertilizers and poor management of organic waste contribute to nitrous oxide emissions. Deforestation for agriculture also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These emissions not only exacerbate climate change but also contribute to air pollution and environmental degradation.

Sustainable Agriculture be a Solution

Adopting sustainable agricultural practices is crucial for aiding the effects of climate change and building resilience. Sustainable agriculture promotes methods that minimize greenhouse gas emissions, conserve natural resources, and enhance ecosystem health. This includes practices such as organic farming, agroforestry, crop rotation, precision agriculture also known as smart farming, and improved livestock management techniques. By reducing reliance on synthetic inputs, conserving water, and promoting biodiversity, sustainable agriculture offers a pathway to address climate change while ensuring food security around the world.

How can Farmers Adapt and be Resilient to these Changes?

Farmers all across the world are already feeling the effects of climate change, and they must adapt in order to remain productive and sustainable. Climate-resilient agricultural types, irrigation systems, improved water management, and income diversification are among a few adaptation measures that farmers can incorporate. Investing in climate information and early warning systems can also assist farmers in making educated decisions and preventing hazards. Governments, organizations, and research institutions play critical roles in facilitating successful adaptation by providing assistance, financial support, and information transfer.

The Mitigation Role of Agriculture

Agriculture has the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation through various strategies. Enhancing carbon storage in agricultural soils through practices like conservation tillage, cover cropping, and agroforestry can help offset emissions. Efficient use of fertilizers, improved waste management systems, and optimizing livestock production can reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions. More closely, transitioning towards renewable energy sources and promoting the circular economy in agriculture can further reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.

The interrelation between agriculture and climate change highlights the urgent need for transformative action. Climate change impacts agriculture, and agricultural practices contribute to climate change. Addressing this challenge requires a comprehensive approach that integrates sustainable practices, adaptation measures, and mitigation strategies. Governments, farmers, scientists, and consumers all have a role to play in promoting sustainable agriculture, investing in research and innovation, supporting resilient farming communities, and making informed choices about food production and consumption. By understanding and actively addressing the interconnection of agriculture and climate change, everyone can work towards a more sustainable and resilient future for both our food systems and the planet.

Climate change disrupts agriculture through extreme weather, temperature shifts, and altered precipitation patterns, which decrease crop yields, stress livestock, and degrade water and soil resources

In a compounding cycle, agriculture itself contributes significantly to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases from livestock, soil cultivation, and land conversion.