What is carbon farming?

Subject: Environment

Sec: Climate Change

Carbon Farming:

Carbon farming integrates the fundamental role of carbon in life processes with agricultural practices, focusing on regenerative techniques that enhance ecosystem health, improve soil health, and boost agricultural productivity.
This approach helps mitigate climate change by increasing carbon storage in soil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It is adaptable to various agro-climatic conditions and offers solutions to issues like soil degradation, water scarcity, and climate variability.
The technical term for this is carbon sequestration.

Carbon farming techniques:

Carbon farming employs various sustainable agricultural practices to enhance carbon sequestration, improve soil health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Techniques such as rotational grazing, agroforestry, conservation agriculture, and integrated nutrient management each contribute differently.
- Agroforestry (including silvopasture and alley cropping) increases carbon storage in vegetation, while conservation agriculture reduces soil disturbance and increases organic content.
- Integrated nutrient management optimizes the use of organic fertilizers to promote soil fertility and reduce emissions.
- Additionally, strategies in livestock management help lower methane emissions and enhance carbon storage in pastures.
Collectively, these practices not only contribute to mitigating climate change but also support diverse and resilient agricultural ecosystems.

Challenges:

Carbon farming offers significant benefits but faces several challenges that affect its effectiveness, including geographical variations, soil types, crop selection, water availability, biodiversity, and the scale of farming operations.
Its success is also dependent on effective land management, supportive policies, and active community involvement.
Regions with long growing seasons, ample rainfall, and good irrigation systems are more conducive to carbon farming due to better conditions for vegetation growth and carbon sequestration.
Techniques like agroforestry and conservation agriculture have high potential in such fertile and well-watered areas.
Conversely, carbon farming is more challenging in arid regions with limited water availability, where water is prioritized for essential uses over agricultural expansion.
This scarcity can limit plant growth, essential for carbon sequestration through photosynthesis.
Additionally, the choice of plant species is critical, as not all are equally effective at trapping and storing carbon, and some may not thrive in dry conditions.
Economic factors also play a role, particularly in developing countries where small-scale farmers may lack the resources to implement sustainable practices without financial support.

Global scenario:

Carbon farming has gained traction worldwide with schemes such as carbon trading in the agriculture sector, particularly in countries like the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada where voluntary carbon markets are prominent.
Examples include the Chicago Climate Exchange and Australia’s Carbon Farming Initiative, which encourage practices like no-till farming and reforestation to reduce carbon emissions and enhance carbon sequestration in agriculture.
Internationally, projects like Kenya’s Agricultural Carbon Project, supported by the World Bank, demonstrate carbon farming’s potential to address climate change mitigation, adaptation, and food security in developing regions.
Additionally, the ‘4 per 1000’ initiative launched during the COP21 climate talks in 2015 in Paris emphasizes the critical role of carbon sinks in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Indian scenario:

Organic and agro-ecological farming practices have demonstrated the potential to sequester carbon, with the possibility of creating an economic value of approximately $63 billion across India’s 170 million hectares of arable land.
This includes incentives for farmers, offering them about ₹5,000-6,000 per acre annually for providing climate services through sustainable agriculture.
Regions like the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Deccan Plateau are well positioned for carbon farming, whereas the Himalayan and coastal areas face challenges due to their terrain and salinisation, respectively.
Additionally, implementing carbon credit systems could provide farmers with supplementary income by monetizing the environmental services of carbon sequestration.
Research suggests that agricultural soils could absorb 3-8 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually over 20-30 years, significantly aiding in climate stabilization and bridging the gap in necessary emissions reductions.
However, scaling up carbon farming in India requires overcoming hurdles such as limited awareness, insufficient policy frameworks, technological limitations, and creating an environment conducive to adoption.
Despite these challenges, promoting carbon farming aligns with India’s interests to combat climate change, enhance soil health, boost biodiversity, and generate economic benefits for farmers.

Source: TH