Context
Kerala is set to become the first state in the country to implement carbon-neutral agricultural practices in selected places, for which the government has budgeted 6 crores in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Key-highlights of the Plan
- Carbon-neutral farming will be introduced at 13 farms under the Agriculture Department and tribal regions in the first phase, and plans are underway to transform the State Seed Farm at Aluva into a carbon-neutral farm.
- In the second phase, model carbon-neutral farms will be constructed in all 140 Assembly constituencies.
- Agriculture and related land-use change generate one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- Agricultural production is also the largest source of methane and nitrogen dioxide emissions.
- This mainly comes from cattle manure and enteric fermentation, over-application of fertiliser and flooding rice paddies.
- Agricultural production and land use change can also lead to the conversion of valued habitats or eliminate biodiversity.
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Ways to reduce carbon footprint in agriculture
- Improving soil health through integrated farming methods
- rotation of crops
- adoption of fertigation
- precision farming methods
- changing the ways in which the soil is irrigated
- limiting the indiscriminate use of fertilizers
