Why Isn't Farming Mentioned in the Impacts of Global Warming?

Different factors cause climate change. Pollutants in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrogen dioxide (N2O) are some of the most significant individual contributors to global warming. While agriculture and food production are associated with all three of these gasses, direct agricultural emissions are not the major contributors.

Activities such as burning coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity, transportation, and heat are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Human activities like heating, using air conditioners, fueling cars, and producing food all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, which causes the temperature to rise.

Due to the distinct processes through which agricultural sectors emit hazardous gases, it becomes harder to quantify. A small amount of CO2 emissions occur directly from agricultural production, following the application of urea and lime. Still, these sources constitute a tiny portion of total CO2 emissions compared to other sectors such as oil, gas, energy, transportation, etc. Energy used in agricultural operations (e.g., tractor fuel) or embedded in inputs (e.g., fertilizer manufacture and transport) can also be included in the emissions table, but they become highly ambiguous and are considered as energy or transport emissions within the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) accounting framework. The plans to reduce most of these emission sources are likely to be included in the overall decarbonization process rather than specific agricultural mitigations.

Agriculture is also one of the leading causes of deforestation, primarily from clearing land for crop production or pasture, and it is an essential contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. But, understanding the climate impacts of agriculture, particularly with respect to other sectors, undermines the effectiveness of the emissions.

This is where environmental Data can come into play. With accurate soil data, it becomes easy to attribute the activities of agricultural industries to the environment and climate. While agriculture is the most critical sector of the world, it is essential to find ways to function it through methods that will mitigate its risks on climate. For gases such as methane, there is scope to understand the sustainable emission rates acceptable for different actors while clarifying the impacts of other emitters.

These are a few use cases where data can make a difference.

• Food for growing population: This is one of the critical challenges, and one way to achieve this is to increase the production from existing farmlands while measuring risks with the help of data.

• Using less harmful pesticides: Data allows farmers to manage the usage of pesticides better by recommending safer pesticides usage levels to apply, when, and by how much, which will enable them to keep track of soil health, weather, and the climate.

• For large farms, data can help optimize usage and ensure the long-term health of farm equipment.

Data collected from the soil API can help agriculture sectors monitor their land fertility, find efficient ways to increase their yields, and save the environment. It can also be integrated with Weather API and Air Quality API to help reduce logistics, yields, and climate issues. Get data at your fingertips with Smart Farming Data.