Reducing Carbon Emission by Altering the Method of Farming

The Government had approved the eight Mission under the National Action Plan for Climatic Change (NAPCC). These are Soil, water and crop management practices that reduce carbon emission. The Minister of State for Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Parshottam Rupala highlighted this in the Parliament. 

The initiative has been taken to make agriculture more adaptive and resilient to climate variability and in the process to reduce carbon emission.  Important initiatives in this regard include crop diversification programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Food Security Mission (NFSM) and Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI).  Other supporting programmes viz.  Soil Health Card (SHC), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Mission Organic for Value Chain Development for North East (MOVCD), Rainfed Area Development (RAD), Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) and National Bamboo Mission (NBM) are also being implemented under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), which is one of the eight Mission under the National Action Plan for Climatic Change (NAPCC). 

Soil, water and crop management practices that reduce carbon emission include: 

•  Increasing the area under System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as an alternative to transplanted paddy.

• Deployment of zero tillage drill machines and other residue management equipment which enable planting of rabicrop in the standing residue of rice crop to avoid its burning. 

• Alternate wetting and drying, direct seeded rice system of rice cultivation, use of slow release nitrogen fertilizers, integrated nutrient management practices, leaf colourchart-based nitrogen application, use of urea super granules etc. 

• Mandatory Neem coating of urea.

•  Promotion of micro irrigation under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)-Per Drop More Crop.

• Planting of trees under National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), Sub-Mission on Agro Forestry (SMAF) and National Bamboo Mission (NBM).

• 45 models of Integrated Farming System (IFS) have been developed for replication in Krishi Vigyan Kendras(KVKs) and in the States for enabling climate resilient agriculture. 

• Climate resilient villages have been developed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), one in each of 151 districts. Climate Vulnerability Atlas has been prepared under National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).  District Agriculture Contingency Plans have been developed for 633 districts in order to give real time agro advisories for overcoming climate risks.