Low-carbon farms can raise food output, UN food agency says

“BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) – Low-carbon farming can both curb climate change and boost food output in developing nations and so must be rewarded under a global climate deal due in December, the U.N.’s food agency said on Thursday.”……………….?”

“Food Security And Agricultural Mitigation in Developing Countries”
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5A45DT20091105

Dr Phil Harris

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Here’s the link to the report:

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/ak596e/ak596e00.pdf

“Food Security and Agricultural Mitigation in Developing Countries: Options for Capturing Synergies”

Dave, read 2.4 Agricultural mitigation options, at the foot of page 17. It begins:

In this section, the mitigation impacts of land use changes are assessed. The major sources
of terrestrial mitigation from agriculture, following IPCC (2007) are described below.
Cropland management
• Improved agronomic practices generate higher inputs of carbon (C) residue, leading to
increased soil C storage (Follett et al. 2001). Such practices include using improved crop
varieties, extending crop rotations, avoiding use of bare fallow and using cover crops.
• Integrated nutrient management can reduce emissions on-site by reducing leaching and
volatile losses, improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency through precision farming7 and
improving fertilizer application timing.
• Increasing available water in the root zone through water management can enhance
biomass production, increase the amount of above-ground and the root biomass
returned to the soil, and improve soil organic C concentration. Soil and water
conservation measures, such as the construction of soil or stone bunds, drainage
measures, and irrigation constitute important aspects of water management

And then read on for some detail.

Roy Tindle