What is the contribution of agriculture in anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs)?
Agriculture is estimated to account for 10%–20% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide ; it accounts for 50% and 60% of the total anthropogenic methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, respectively.
According to IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land – Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) activities accounted for around 13% of CO2, 44% of methane (CH4), and 81% of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from human activities globally during 2007-2016, representing 23% of total net anthropogenic emissions of GHGs. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2020/02/SPM_Updated-Jan20.pdf
Rice paddies are considered one of the most important sources of CH4 and N2O emissions, which have attracted considerable attention due to their contribution to global warming.
What is the present scenario in India?
In India, paddy rice cultivation occupies over 46 million hectares, the largest rice producing area in Asia, and accounts for 22% of the total rice production worldwide. (China is the largest producer of rice contributing for over 30% of the world’s rice output).
India has the largest area under rice cultivation, while China is the largest producer of rice. In India, it accounts for more than 40 per cent of food-grain production, providing direct employment to 70 per cent people in rural areas.
Being the staple food for more than 65 per cent of the people, the national food security of India hinges on the growth and stability of rice production.
India would need to produce up to 130 million tonnes of milled rice by 2030 to meet the growing demands. The production in FY2020-21 was 120 million tonnes.
To ensure food security for the growing population, expansion of rice-cropped area and continuous intensification of rice cultivation would likely increase greenhouse gas emissions.
What is the present scenario in world?
Rice is one of the three most important crops in the world and forms the staple food for more than 60% of world’s population .
It is grown in all the continents except Antarctica, occupying about 165 million hectares (in 2021) , producing 756 million tones paddy (in 2020) with an average productivity of 4 tonnes per hectare.
How can this be mitigated?
1 . Data on trade-offs between rice yield increase and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions are urgently needed for innovation in cropping techniques.
2 . Modification of current cropping technique might be a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice soil.
In this respect, a system of rice intensification has been introduced as an efficient, resource saving, and productive strategy to practice rice farming.
It involves reduced water application, organic amendments, and transplanting young single seedling per hill with wide spacing. https://fotisedu.com/system-of-rice-intensification-sri-more-with-less/
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
QUES 1 . Among the following crops, which one is the most important anthropogenic source of both
methane and nitrous oxide? UPSC 2022
(a) Cotton
(b) Rice
(c) Sugarcane
(d) Wheat
Answer: (b)
