Search
Sustainable pathways toward reimagining India’s agricultural systems

July 18, 2023 | Communications Earth & Environment 

Introduction: Researchers from University of Massachusetts Boston in the USA proposed policy framework and pathways towards achieving agriculural sustainability in India. The proposed pathways include: 1) Build soil fertility with less synthetic fertilizer, 2) Reuse crop residue as raw material, 3) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, 4) Promote agroforestry for carbon sequestration with co-benefits. 

Key findings:

  1. There is an urgent need for new policy frameworks to revamp and enhance institutional networks and capacities to adopt landscape-systems approaches in agricultural research and resource management that promote sustainability, climate resilience, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. The scope extends beyond agroecosystems to include nearby ecosystems like forests, wetlands, abandoned fields, and urbanizing areas.
  2. Landscape-system research and source management needs to be based on field research across multiple agroecosystems, and interdisciplinary collaboration to create the knowledge commons can be facilitated by use of digital platforms.
  3. Field trials requiring a shift in research paradigm, should involve various stakeholders beyond agricultural scientists, such as farmers, local non-governmental organizations, and agencies, to collect large-scale farm-level data.
  4. Disseminate knowledge to stakeholders such as small farmers via digital platforms of existing civil societies.

 

 

 Fig. | A simplified, schematic transformation pathway for Indian agricultural systems. The diagram outlines the flows of information and influence needed to generate large-scale outcomes incorporating biodiversity protection, livelihoods support and climate mitigation. 

Viewed Articles
Sustainable pathways toward reimagining India’s agricultural systems
July 18, 2023 | Communications Earth & Environment |  Introduction: Researchers from University of Massachusetts Boston in the USA proposed policy framework and pathways towards achieving agriculural
Read More
Opportunities for mitigating net system greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asian rice production: A systematic review
February 28, 2024 | Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment | Source | Introduction: Southeast Asia (SEA) produces 28% of global rice. As flooded rice fields account for nearly half of global crop-relat
Soil carbon sequestration increment and carbon-negative emissions in alternate wetting and drying paddy ecosystems through biochar incorporation
July 1, 2024 | Agricultural Water Management | Source |  Introduction: Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a widely adopted water-saving irrigation technique in Asian rice-producing countries that i
What are the challenges and opportunities in implementing Taiwan's aquavoltaics policy? A roadmap for achieving symbiosis between small-scale aquaculture and photovoltaics
June 1, 2021 | Energy Policy | Source | Introduction: Taiwan has been advancing its renewable energy projects, including a policy that combines photovoltaics (PVs) with fishponds, known as aquavoltaic
Greenhouse gas mitigation requires caution
June 6, 2024 | Science | Source | Introduction: Methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), greenhouse gases (GHGs) far more potent than CO₂, are emitted via microbial activity in diverse ecosystems. Biolo
A meta-analysis on the mitigation measures of methane emissions in Chinese rice paddy
March, 2024 | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | Source |  Introduction: China being the largest rice producer, representing 21.75% of global methane (CH₄) emissions from rice cultivation, thus m
TOP