The relationship between agriculture and climate change is conflicting, to say the least, and puts food security at risk. Agriculture is a victim but also a cause of climate change. The yield of many crops is at risk, but the world population is growing. From this sector passes the challenge for change towards a fully sustainable form of development.
In this blog we will reveal how the modern agriculture practices to fulfill the demand of the growing population leads to global warming and how the sustainable agriculture practices can reverse the adverse effects of global warming.
HOW MODERN AND INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES ENDANGERS THE CLIMATE
Intensive agriculture characterized by monocultures and designed to meet the food needs of animal farms – is one of the sectors that emit excessive CO2 (the main greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere, comparable only to that of all transports, put together.
Going into detail, agriculture and related deforestation together accounted for 21 percent of the total CO2 emitted into the atmosphere in the period 2000-2010 (equal to about 44 billion tons). This is because agriculture needs more and more space and massive doses of chemical fertilizers, given the growing demand for meat and derivatives. All this leads to the detriment of the surface covered by forests which, on the contrary, absorbs CO2 mitigating emissions of anthropogenic origin, that is, man made. Therefore, a vicious circle is created that puts agriculture in a condition of both victim (drop in crop yield) and executioner (one of the main causes of climate change).
IS ANCIENT AGRICULTURE PRACTICE THE SOLUTION TO REVERSE GLOBAL WARMING DAMAGES
The United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which has done extensive research on the subject is working to promote sustainable practices, including ancient agriculture practices. Why?
The effects of climate change including increasing humid air leading to greater pest infestations, unexpected extreme weather conditions, unforeseen natural disasters, lack of regular rainfall, decreased yields, can be felt by farmers on a daily basis.
Centuries ago, farmers and communities practiced farming techniques that helped plants and microorganisms to coexist and thrive, unlike modern farming that rips apart the soil, exposes useful microbes that kills them, and releases huge amounts of carbon into the air.
Indigenous farming practices of India, where cow is the centre of all agriculture has slowly been lost to modern mechanized farming. The revival of ancient natural fertilizer jeeva-amrita (a miracle fertilizer is cow dung, cow urine, evaporated cane juice or raw sugar and water) is one of the significant practices to create healthy soil.
We don’t need to invent anything new, we just need to revive nature-friendly sustainable farming practices and methods of cultivation to save us from the clutches of global warming.
It is a series of environmental and social actions aimed at creating a sustainable agricultural system that optimizes and stabilizes crops. This approach recognizes that the planet must be healthy because it must continue to serve future generations. For this to become sustainable, we must practice ancient farming practices that have no-tilling or minimum tilling practices. This does not harm the soil, lets the carbon remain trapped underground for microbes to absorb the carbon fuel, grow and in turn fix carbon in the soil.
Dense cover crop practices of ancient times also enable to capture carbon dioxide and send carbon down into the soil. This in turn increases diversity of plants and vegetation, in contrast to monoculture.
Another significant shift enabled by regenerating the soil is avoidance of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides, that can increase yield multi-fold and also, revive waterways. Mixed-cropping or inter cropping provides a number of benefits, including natural resistance to crop diseases, infestations and droughts.
Ancient farming is intimately connected to every principle of sustainable development and organic way of farming, living and wellness that will help us restore the ecological balance and overall well-being of people.
HOW ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IMPROVE CROP PRODUCTION AND OFFSETS CLIMATE CHANGE
There are many benefits to leading a more sustainable lifestyle from an agricultural point of view.
One of the benefits of sustainable agriculture is the elimination of typical farming methods, which often consume large amounts of fertile soil by following a single crop approach. This typical form of farming is an example of unsustainable farming. This often destroys the landscape and requires farmers to spend unnecessary amounts of money to get more land. Through sustainable agricultural practices, the cultivation of a single crop by placing multiple crops on the same soil is eliminated by combining tall sun-loving plants with shorter shade-loving plants. This ancient farming approach enables farmers to grow more crops on less land while protecting the environment.
One of the main disadvantages of sustainable farming with this approach is the inability to grow many crops simultaneously. This is because plants that take a more sustainable approach usually do not leak
nutrients because there are fewer crops on the ground. Sustainable agricultural practices are often difficult to follow for farmers who want to continue collective farming.
Nor does organic farming depend on the addition of ‘external inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. This makes farmers less dependent on buying things from the farm. This method uses a unique “product” by composting crop waste (stems, cuttings, leaves, etc.) and using livestock manure as fertilizer in the field. This is a “closed circuit” that builds rather than depletes the Earth’s health, clean water systems, and biodiversity. If done right, they can even use healthy soils to capture carbon, which helps slow climate change.
After much research, European researchers are recommending a 2,000-year-old agricultural technology that can improve modern soils, produce more crops, and absorb greenhouse gases. A recent study of deep, dark, nutrient-rich soil sources found in select sites in northern Europe found that ancient soil improvement methods fed a hungry world while addressing the challenges of global warming. There are researchers suggesting that it may be helpful in their efforts.
Finally, sustainable agriculture has the potential to significantly reduce water pollution by removing harmful fertilizers that infiltrate the runoff and destroy the natural environment. Methane pollution is a powerful greenhouse gas that harms Earth’s water and atmosphere. Unfortunately, most of this methane comes from industrial livestock practices. By adopting ancient and sustainable agricultural practices, the use of natural fertilizers, farm pollution is greatly reduced. This reduction not only benefits the air quality but also protects the Earth’s natural resources, which can be severely damaged by methane.
Therefore, it can be said that adopting ancient farming techniques will protect and even improve soil and fertility. This form of sustainable organic farming allows soils to absorb and store greenhouse gases. You can exploit this potential to combat global climate change.
At Jaivik Farms, we are committed to organic Vedic Krishi (ancient farming) to bring people closer to naturally, nurtured, nutrifood, rejuvenate our environment with ancient farming practices and provide 100% Certified Organic, Natural, and Residue-free wellness and food products of superior quality that will transform lives.