Dr Adnan Arshad, one of the top 130 worldwide climatologists, recently attended the International Conference on “Zero Greenhouse Emission in High Productive Agriculture” in Denmark and gave a short speech, highlighting the importance of climate-smart agriculture.
Dr Arshad mentioned that to minimize agricultural emissions, Pakistan’s farmers must be better informed about climate-smart methods. It was stated that Pakistan’s existing production expertise and technology contribute significantly to anthropogenic global warming and the reduction of agricultural emissions. Methane and nitrous oxide, in particular, might play an important role in climate change mitigation, with new and better technology and collaborative processes. Furthermore, he noted, ministries must pay attention to scaling up operations by mapping and frequent inventories of greenhouse gas emissions from all types of agricultural systems in the nation.
He claims that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture are primarily caused by cattle, manure, soils, land usage, and the use of fossil fuels.
He predicted that unless new production techniques and technology are developed, agriculture would be the sector with the highest greenhouse gas emissions within a few years. He stressed the need of building the capacity of end-users, mostly small farmers, particularly women and youth, to be better aware of how innovative technology and agricultural system management may reduce emissions at the farm and landscape scales. He claims that the current heat waves in Pakistan and India are proof of GHGs trapping heat in the local environment.
Therefore, this article serves as a reminder of the importance to adopt climate-smart agriculture and a warning of the impending dangers of unsustainable agriculture.