Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
3.1. INTRODUCTION
Most countries of the world are prone to the effect of climate change,
considering the indiscriminate population growth relying on agriculture
and extreme stress on natural resources. Research on climate change re-
vealed that increasing temperatures, incosistant rainfall pattern, and se-
vere weather aberratation could drastically affect food production in the
near future influencing agricultural GDP. The warming trend in India over
the past 100 years was estimated to be 0.60°C. Recently, steady warming
trend and unusual weather changes have been reported in India. More-
over, many regions such as Indo-Gangetic plains and coastal areas that
are prone to frequent droughts and floods have been identified to be more
vulnerable to climate change effects. Climate change impacts like drought,
cold, heat, and floods have significant potential to affect the production of
food crops like rice, wheat, and pulses and horticultural crops including
fruits and vegetables, ultimately leading to shortages and higher prices.
The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture made a strong recommen-
dation to strengthen research on climate change to ensure food and nutri-
tional security in the country.
3.2
GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION
Co-firing tree energy crop biomass at existing coal-fired power plants will
achieve the
greatest reduction
of any renewable energy resource option,
as:
• Electricity produced from biomass fuel is carbon cycle neutral, just
like the most advanced wind or solar energy technologies.
• Use of tree energy crop biomass also sequesters sizable amounts of
carbon (e.g., a sustainable long-term storage through the trees' root
system).
• Co-firing energy crop biomass fuel in base load power plants direct-
ly displaces %reduces coal use, which can achieve more than two
times the Greenhouse gas reduction benefit of placing wind or solar
power facilities on an integrated electricity power grid.
Biochar is an organic material produced via the pyrolysis of C-based
feedstocks (biomass) and is best described as a 'soil conditioner.' This has
10 to 1000 times longer than residence times of most soil organic matter
