Climate change poses a real threat to farmers around the world due to the growing population and changes in diet patterns. Agriculture is highly dependent on good weather, rainfall, wind intensity, soil characteristics, and many other variables. Check out these five ways that help farmers to increase the productivity despite a changing climate.
Vertical farming is the first contemporary technology to assist farmers cut down on air and environmental pollution. With vertical farming, nutrients may trickle down from the upper sections, reducing the need for water and pesticides. Professional farmers may reduce their carbon footprint by growing food using vertical farming methods. Since many cities lack adequate land for growing their food, so they mostly rely on imports. Emissions from food production and delivery can be reduced when people opt to cultivate their fruits, vegetables, and grains in the comfort zone of their own homes. Methane emissions may be reduced directly by professionals by adopting various methods. By growing the food in controlled environment, there is limited need to control the pests. This means lesser use of pesticides which ultimately means lesser production of methane .
Smart Fertilizers
Creating fertilizer from atmospheric nitrogen has historically required large amounts of fossil fuels. It is also difficult for farmers to apply just the correct quantity of fertilizer at the right moment for plants to get the most out of it. Fertilizers are sometimes overused and end up as pollution in the form of greenhouse gases or water toxins since crops don’t absorb them. However, these issues are being addressed by a new generation of fertilizers which include superphosphate, ammonium polyphosphate liquid , ammonium nitrate and urea .
Plant-Based Meat
As more people switch to vegetarian or vegan diets out of concern for the environment, farmers have a chance to catch up to the times by creating novel vegan protein sources. One such substitute is seitan, a wheat protein. Comparatively, its carbon footprint is almost 130 times lower than beef’s, making it a much more environmentally friendly option. Methane pollution can be reduced or eliminated if cattle husbandry is swapped out for plant-based meat production. Individuals, as well as governments, may use drones to decrease emissions from fields.
So it’s a smart move to switch to solar-operated tube wells for crop water requirements. A number of public-sector grants and subsidies are available for this option. For details,
Drones for Mapping
Drones, equipped with GPS and GIS, can promote environmentally friendly farming by cutting down on waste and fuel use. Before the advent of drones, humans had to manually drive around fields to observe and record the progress of different crops at different stages of development. The time-consuming process also resulted in a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. Precision agriculture for both crops and animals is made possible by technology as well. This farming method reduces food waste and water runoff, which is good for the environment. Farmers may reduce their production emissions even further by keeping food for longer.
Precise Fermentation:
Since the beginning of time, humans have utilized microorganisms to convert sugars and starches into fermented items like beer, wine, and bread. However, in the distant future, precise fermentation will be employed to manufacture various other goods. Most of the insulin and cheese-making enzyme rennet in the world are both products of this technique . Animal-free ice cream containing fermented dairy protein, created by introducing milk-producing genes into microorganisms, was recently approved for sale in the United States. It won’t be long until you can get precision fermented foods and drinks in your local store. With the help of these technologies, reducing environmental footprint becomes quite easier. Agriculturists are now recommending these strategies and tools to the farmers to avoid environmental and carbon footprint, which is necessary to keep our environment clean.