Climate change impact

Efforts to increase crop production will take place under rapidly changing, often unpredictable, environmental and socio-economic conditions. One of the most crucial challenges is the need to adapt to climate change, which – through alterations in temperature, precipitation and pest incidence – will affect which crops can be grown and when, as well as their potential yields. In the near term, climate variability and extreme weather shocks are projected to increase, affecting all regions, with negative impacts on yield growth and food security. Agriculture (including deforestation) accounts for about one third of greenhouse gas emissions; for this reason it must contribute significantly to climate change mitigation. While crops can be adapted to changing environments, the need to reduce emissions will increasingly challenge conventional, resource-intensive agricultural systems.

Climate Change Impact from Agriculture

Agricultural activities, the cultivation of crops and livestock for food, contribute to emissions in a variety of ways:

Various management practices for agricultural soils can lead to production and emission of nitrous oxide, N2O. The large number of different activities that can contribute to N2O emissions from agricultural lands range from fertilizer application to methods of irrigation and tillage. Management of agricultural soils accounts for almost half of the emissions from the Agriculture sector.

Livestock, especially cattle, produce methane, CH4, as part of their digestion. This process is called enteric fermentation, and it represents one third of the emissions from the Agriculture sector.

The way in which manure from livestock is managed also contributes to CH4 and N2O emissions. Manure storage methods and the amount of exposure to oxygen and moisture can affect how these greenhouse gases are produced. Manure management accounts for about 15% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the Agriculture sector in the United States.

Smaller sources of emissions include rice cultivation, which produces CH4, and burning crop residues, which produce CH4 and N2O.

Emissions Mitigation from Agriculture