CM Pinarayi Vijayan declares Kerala Seed Farm in Ernakulam district as first carbon-neutral farm in the country.

• Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared the State Seed Farm at Aluva in Ernakulam district as the first carbon-neutral farm in the country.
• The declaration was the culmination of decade-long efforts which included totally organic agricultural activities and scientific interventions to maintain soil health in the farm.
• Studies by the Kerala Agricultural University held last August had found that the carbon emissions from the activities in the farm was 43 tonnes, while carbon sequestration was 213 tonnes, thus making it not only neutral but also carbon negative.
• The state aims to achieve 40 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2025.
• Pinarayi Vijayan said the government has also plans to set up model carbon-neutral farms in all the 140 assembly constituencies in the state.

What is Carbon Neutral Farming?

• Carbon emissions from agriculture account for almost 24%of the total Greenhouse gas emissions. Both field inside and related land use factors contribute to carbon emission.
• From crop management to manure addition, every step has revealed glaring numbers for the world.
• According to a report byFAO, the carbon contribution of the agriculture sector accounted for 3 billion tons in 2018.

The carbon emissions from farming can be divided into following three ways for a holistic understanding:

Emissions due to land use pattern

• These include carbon emissions because of inappropriately using the land.
• For example, the use of pesticides and fertilizer on cropland determines the absorption rate and the amount of carbon discharged into the atmosphere.

Emissions due to ruminant farming

• Ruminants are herbivore animals that perform fermentation on plant-based food to obtain nutrients in a specialized chamber.
• Large-scale domestication of animals like a cow has resulted in massive Greenhouse gas emissions.
• One cow can expel about 220 pounds of methane in one year. Methane has a 28% more chance of ocean warming than other gases.

Emissions due to rice growth

• Emissions from rice farming not only contribute to an early climate crisis but also reduces the nutrient quotient of the variety.
• Food production causes immense emissions into the environment. From using machinery to adding fertilizer, farmers unintentionally have been fuelling the ejection of excessive carbon into the atmosphere.

Ways to control carbon emissions from the agriculture sector

• Carbon-neutral farming is all about practicing a scientifically proven methodology that arrests carbon emissions without affecting agricultural output.
• Proper farm management techniques can result in healthy crop yields, without endangering the planet.
• This section discusses various approaches from multiple standpoints that can result in a climate-friendly crop occupation.