Global temperature is on a perpetual rise and weather patterns are becoming erratic than ever. The correlation between agricultural practices and Climate change is strong as the traditional agriculture is a significant contributor to global warming.
Therefore, farming practices that ensure carbon sequestration, and demand lower input of fossil-fuel dependent resources substantiate the need for Organic agriculture to take the lead.
With the rise of global awareness regarding climate change, Organic Farming and climate change mitigation is a widely discussed topic in the UAE.
Organic farming offers management practices that facilitate farmers to adapt the strategies to mitigate climate change via diversifying crop production techniques and strengthening their knowledge and skill base to confront the ever-increasing climate change.
Here, we have mentioned a few essential points that justify that the practices employed in organic agriculture lead to mitigation of climate change:
Ensures Carbon Sequestration
Good on-farm practices employed in organic agriculture are best because it replenishes the soil with high organic content and reinforces the soil cover. And the ground will become more resistant to floods, droughts, and land degradation practices.
Moreover, more carbon in the soil means less atmospheric carbon to contribute to global warming.
Reduces The Use Of Energy
Traditional farming employs vast quantities of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. As these chemicals are synthetically prepared, it takes considerable amounts of energy in the manufacturing process.
And, the organic farming is here to offer you a sigh of relief. It minimizes energy consumption by 30-70% per unit of cultivated land by mitigating the energy needed in the manufacturing process and reducing the fuel used in the transportation process.
It Relies On “Green Manure”:
The primary debate on climate change mitigation focuses on the ways to reduce energy consumption.
As in agriculture, the most considerable energy use is in the production of fertilizers. And, the most substantial contribution goes to the manufacturing of nitrogen fertilizers.
But in UAE organic farming provides an edge as it is dependent on green manure. And, a research study established the fact that it consumes 50 per cent less energy than that the traditional agriculture based on synthetic fertilizers.
Pest Management Techniques Reduce The Use Of Pesticides
Another agricultural process that contributes to climate change is pesticide production. Organic producers have a variety of methods to minimize insects and the harm associated with them.
Crop rotation and pest management techniques help organic farmers to control and manage undesirable insects naturally.
Thus, minimizes the agriculture’s ecological footprint.
PARTING NOTE!
The agricultural process is one of the significant contributors to climate change patterns not only in the UAE but all over the world.
The synthetic chemicals and the poor land management practices employed in the conventional farming takes the lead when increasing the agriculture’s carbon footprint.
But, employing the good on-farm practices as that used in organic farming can help to tackle this dangerous climate change threat by reducing the use of energy-intensive materials and processes.
