Respected Sir Rk Naresh

Conservation agriculture is an approach to farming that aims to promote sustainable land use and mitigate the impact of climate change. In India, like in many other parts of the world, conservation agriculture practices are being increasingly adopted to address the challenges of land degradation, water scarcity, and climate change. Here's an overview of conservation agriculture and its impact on climate change in the context of India:

Conservation Agriculture in India: Conservation agriculture involves three core principles:

· Minimum Soil Disturbance: This principle encourages reduced or zero-tillage practices, which means minimizing the disturbance of the soil through plowing or other conventional tillage methods. This helps to maintain soil structure and prevent erosion.

· Crop Rotation and Diversification: Crop rotation and diversification are essential components of conservation agriculture. They help break the cycle of pests and diseases, improve soil fertility, and reduce the need for chemical inputs.

· Permanent Soil Cover: Maintaining permanent soil cover through crop residues or cover crops helps to reduce soil erosion, retain moisture, and improve overall soil health.

Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Climate Change in India:

· Carbon Sequestration: Conservation agriculture practices, such as reduced or zero-tillage, contribute to carbon sequestration. When crop residues are left on the field or incorporated into the soil rather than being burned, they can sequester carbon in the soil. This helps mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, as carbon is stored in the soil and not released into the atmosphere as CO2.

· Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Conservation agriculture can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide. Reduced or zero-tillage practices can lead to a decrease in soil disturbance, which, in turn, lowers emissions of these gases associated with soil disruption.

· Improved Resilience to Climate Change: Conservation agriculture practices help improve the resilience of agriculture to the effects of climate change. They can enhance soil moisture retention, making crops more drought-resistant. Additionally, diversification of crops and reduced pest pressure can make farming systems more adaptable to changing climate conditions.

· Water Conservation: Conservation agriculture practices, such as crop residue cover and reduced soil disturbance, can help conserve water. This is especially critical in water-scarce regions of India, where efficient water use is essential for sustainable agriculture.

· Soil Health Improvement: Conservation agriculture practices lead to improved soil health, which is essential for sustainable farming. Healthy soils can store more carbon and are less prone to erosion and degradation.

In summary, conservation agriculture practices in India play a crucial role in sustainable land use and can have a positive impact on mitigating climate change. These practices help improve soil health, conserve water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance the resilience of agriculture in the face of changing climate conditions. Adoption of conservation agriculture is a step toward more sustainable and climate-resilient farming systems in India and other regions facing similar challenges.

Dear Dr Himanshu Tiwari thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a farming system that can prevent losses of arable land while regenerating degraded lands. It promotes maintenance of a permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance, and diversification of plant species. Therefore to achieve higher production there should must focus on conservation tillage practices. Reduced soil erosion, improvement in soil moisture, increase beneficial soil microbes, less fuel consumption Reduce soil compaction, reduced dust and smoke to pollute air, maintain of soil nutrient and fertility. CA is a farming system that can prevent losses of arable land while regenerating degraded lands. It promotes maintenance of a permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance, and diversification of plant species. “Permanent soil organic cover” with crop residues and/or cover crops enables climate change adaptation by reducing soil erosion and degradation. CA practices can also contribute to making agricultural systems more resilient to climate change. In many cases, conservation agriculture has been proven to reduce farming systems' greenhouse gas emissions and enhance their role as carbon sinks. Smart land conservation can increase carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience to changing environmental conditions, and help communities, landscapes, and wildlife adapt to an ever-changing climate. CA as promoting richer soil biodiversity, structural cohesion, and protecting against external weather events due to crop residue cover reducing soil erosion. In fact, in general, CA is known to have the potential to reduce soil erosion by almost 80 percent.

Yes, loss of forests is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation and forest degradation account for about 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, which is nearly as much as all of the world's vehicles combined.

When forests are cleared, the trees that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are removed. This carbon dioxide is then released back into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. In addition, the burning of forests releases other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide.

Agriculture and forestry are responsible for about 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This includes emissions from deforestation, as well as emissions from agricultural practices such as the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and the raising of livestock.

Therefore, loss of forests is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and forestry and agriculture are responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Here are some additional facts about deforestation and climate change:

• Tropical forests are particularly important for carbon storage, as they contain about half of the world's forest carbon.
• Deforestation is the second leading cause of climate change, after the burning of fossil fuels.
• Deforestation also has other negative impacts on the environment, such as disrupting the water cycle and destroying biodiversity.

It is important to note that the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions from forestry and agriculture varies depending on the country or region. In some developing countries, deforestation and agriculture are responsible for a much larger percentage of emissions.

We can all help to reduce deforestation and its contribution to climate change by making changes to our lifestyles, such as choosing products that are certified sustainable and reducing our consumption of meat.

Dr Murtadha Shukur thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Smart land conservation can increase carbon sequestration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience to changing environmental conditions, and help communities, landscapes, and wildlife adapt to an ever-changing climate. Conservation agriculture (CA) practices can also contribute to making agricultural systems more resilient to climate change. In many cases, conservation agriculture has been proven to reduce farming systems' greenhouse gas emissions and enhance their role as carbon sinks. Climate change further poses a challenge to food security challenges with its influence on food production, costs, and security. Excessive heat or shortage of water can impede crop growth; reduce yields, and influence irrigation, soil quality, and the ecosystem on which agriculture depends. With the conservation of soil cover in conservation agriculture a habitat is created for a number of species that feed on pests, which in turn attracts more insects, birds and other animals. The rotation of crops and cover crops restrains the loss of genetic biodiversity, which is favored with mono-cropping. Core to all climate change solutions is reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which must get to zero as soon as possible. Because both forests and oceans play vitally important roles in regulating our climate, increasing the natural ability of forests and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide can also help stop global warming. CA technologies involve minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover through crop residues or cover crops, and crop rotations for achieving higher productivity. CA is a farming system that can prevent losses of arable land while regenerating degraded lands. It promotes maintenance of a permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance, and diversification of plant species. Therefore to achieve higher production there should must focus on conservation tillage practices. Reduced soil erosion, improvement in soil moisture, increase beneficial soil microbes, less fuel consumption Reduce soil compaction, reduced dust and smoke to pollute air, maintain of soil nutrient and fertility.