TraceX is a blockchain powered food traceability platform working towards building Climate Resilient Sustainable supply chains for the future. It connects multiple participants across the food and agri supply chain and help them securely exchange ve...
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The agri-food sector generates over a quarter of the greenhouse gases and contributes significantly to climate change. The disruption of ecosystems, biodiversity and eventually food security has made it all the more critical to address this key sector to tackle the ongoing crisis.
Today, as one of the major carbon emitters, do you know that Agri sector is a key to decarbonisation?
The Emission Scenario
The IPCC report makes it clear that a rapid transition is required to limit the impact of climate change to 1.5˚C. This would require staying within the cumulative carbon budget of 570 gigatons of equivalent carbon dioxide (GtCO2e) reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally around 2050 and also reducing the emissions of other gases like methane and nitrous oxide. This would need a major change in the way we farm, what and how we eat and waste food and how we manage our forests and the natural carbon sinks.
Agriculture becomes a significant carbon emission sink by capturing and sequestering more GHG emissions from the atmosphere than it generates. A set of should achieve 20% of sector's required emission reduction by 2050. These measures have a potential to abate to upto a combined 4.6 GtCO2e by 2050.
Emissions in Agriculture
Apart from livestock, the GHG emissions in agriculture occur in rice cultivation (17.5%), Fertilizer application (19.1%) and burning of agriculture residue (2.2%). Most farm related emissions come in the form of methane and nitrous oxide. Methane emissions are due to cattle belching and synthetic fertilizers and soil wastes result in nitrous oxide emission. The other smaller sources are rice cultivation, burning of crop residues, fuel usage on farms and manure management. This mostly depends on farming practices followed and the natural factors like weather. Most farms fail to measure emissions and hence make it difficult to determine ways of reduction.
Decarbonization in Agriculture
The decarbonizing pathways could include reducing biogenic methane from cattle and rice cultivation, reduction in usage of water, chemicals and pesticide and reduction in energy for cultivation and harvesting and transport. There is a need to build climate resilience through automation and technology interventions.
The following factors are critical for decarbonization
Soil Fertility
Apart from enhancing farm yields, soil serves as a carbon sink. The excess of moisture conserves soil, reduces erosion and mitigates environmental pollution
Water
Agriculture consumes 80 % of freshwater in India and its conservation is very critical. Micro-irrigation along with adoption of low water intensive farming practices is essential.
Agro-Forestry
Afforestation enriches soil, reduces soil erosion and helps mitigate emissions.
Bioenergy
Farm waste can be utilized to generate biogas thereby helping in mitigating emissions.
Crop Management
Activities like reduced tillage, alternate cropping, fertilizer management and rotational grazing can reduce emissions to a great extent.
Plant based protein
Shifting away from meat consumption also helps in emission reduction.
Reducing Food loss and wastage
also helps to reduce carbon emissions
GHG Protocol
In order to manage the GHG emissions, it is necessary to know what the farm emissions look like. GHG Protocol helps organizations to understand the emission sources and what has to be included in their emission inventories and how the emission data can be reported. This helps to identify the GHG reduction opportunities and set the reduction targets and track them.
Innovative , sustainable packaging, switching to renewable energy are the interventions to reduce sector GHG emissions which needs to be integrated into long term climate strategies, thereby increasing resilience and competitiveness.
The decarbonization journey with , setting science-based targets, reducing supply chain emissions and offsetting residual emissions with certified carbon credits is the way forward for organizations
TraceX is a blockchain powered working towards building Climate Resilient Sustainable supply chains for the future. It connects multiple participants across the food and agri supply chain and help them securely exchange verifiable and auditable data leading to mutual trust, accountability, traceability and transparency amongst the participating actors.
