Mitigation and adaptation strategies – organic agriculture

Abstract

Annual greenhouse gas emissions of agricultural production are estimated to be about 5.1 to 6.1 Gt CO2 equivalents, being 10 to 12 % of the global annual emissions (Smith et al., IPCC-report: Agriculture, 2007, 497-540). While net emissions for CO2 in agriculture are considered small - photosynthesis and decomposition are roughly balanced - emissions of nitrous oxides and methane are large. Including the entire system of food production, processing and distribution, the emissions may account for over 30% of total global annual emissions. Climate change and decreasing fossil fuel availability pose new challenges to agriculture. Increased incidence of climate variability requires systems that are resilient. Water scarcity and energy shortage require food systems capable to use renewable resources. Organic agriculture, increasing worldwide (Willer et al., The World of Organic Agriculture, 2008, 267p), is an ecologically friendly alternative to farming systems that depend on mineral fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. These inputs strongly increase agricultural emissions of greenhouse gases as they are produced with fossil-fuels. Production of nitrogen fertilizer needs 1% of the world’s fossil energy, annually.