Agriculture Facing the Climate Emergency: Observations and Challenges
Agriculture currently accounts for about 12% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, and up to 23% globally according to the FAO. This sector, vital for human food, is also at the heart of debates on climate change. Farmers like Jonathan Smith testify to a growing awareness: they must not only reduce their emissions, but also adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather conditions. The challenge is twofold: to help slow down warming while ensuring food security.
Climate pressure on agriculture continues to grow. Episodes of drought, heatwaves, or floods weaken crops and threaten the economic viability of farms. In this context, the question of agricultural sustainability becomes more pressing than ever. However, the concept of sustainability in agriculture often remains vague, oscillating between reducing chemical inputs, maintaining biodiversity, and combating greenhouse gas emissions.
Public policies strive to support this movement. In the UK, the government has announced a £5 billion investment to encourage agricultural transition. Incentive schemes like the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) aim to support farmers in adopting more responsible practices. However, the sustainability and effectiveness of these measures are subject to debate, particularly in the face of subsidy volatility and regulatory changes.
Reducing Agricultural Emissions: What Practices, What Results?
Many farms are experimenting with practices aimed at reducing their carbon footprint. In St Martin’s, in the Scilly Isles, Jonathan Smith relies on organic farming, reducing the use of tractors, and using green fertilizers such as seaweed or compost. He claims that his farm absorbs more carbon than it emits, thanks in particular to the planting of trees, hedges, and orchards.
Andrew Brewer, as part of the Farm Net Zero project, has radically transformed the management of his farm. He has not resorted to buying chemical fertilizers for five years, maximizing the use of his animals’ slurry and manure. He notes a significant decrease in his carbon footprint while maintaining the productivity of his farm.
Other initiatives, such as crop rotation, direct seeding, or permanent soil cover, promise to reduce both nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and improve carbon sequestration in soils. However, the effectiveness of these practices varies considerably depending on pedoclimatic contexts and production systems.
Carbon Sequestration: A Miracle Solution?
Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils raises many hopes. By storing atmospheric CO2 in the form of organic matter, soils can theoretically become carbon sinks. This capacity, however, depends on rigorous management: limiting soil work, regular inputs of organic matter, maintaining plant cover, etc.
Yet, the margins for maneuver are limited. The storage capacity of soils is not infinite: after a few decades, a new balance sets in and the additional sequestration potential diminishes. Moreover, the accidental release of carbon (for example during a drought or intensive cultivation) can quickly reverse the gains achieved.
Tree, hedge, and orchard plantations, as practiced by Jonathan Smith, offer additional benefits in terms of sequestration and biodiversity. But on a large scale, these strategies require considerable surfaces and time before achieving a significant impact.
Between Emission Reduction and Food Production: A Delicate Balance
One of the major challenges for farmers is to reconcile emission reduction and maintaining sufficient food production. Agroecological practices, often less productive in the short term, raise questions about food security. Any decrease in yield must be compensated by changes in consumption patterns, combating waste, and relocalizing supply chains.
The specialization of farms and the pressure of the global market make a rapid and widespread transformation difficult. Small-scale farms, like Jonathan Smith’s, can achieve carbon neutrality, but their contribution to the global reduction of emissions remains marginal as long as large intensive farms do not massively commit to the transition.
This duality raises the question of social and territorial justice: can farmers alone bear the cost of the ecological transition? Are public aids sufficient to compensate for losses in competitiveness on the international market?
Limits and Criticisms of Low-Carbon Agricultural Strategies
Several criticisms emerge about the real scope of low-carbon agricultural initiatives. First, there is a risk of confusion between emission reduction, sustainable agriculture, and climate adaptation. Reducing the use of chemical fertilizers or tractors does not necessarily imply a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, especially if productivity decreases and imports increase to compensate.
Next, some experts point out the temptation of “greenwashing”: displaying positive carbon balances without taking into account all externalities, particularly those related to animal feed, water consumption, or imported deforestation. The calculation of the carbon footprint must take into account the entire value chain, from field to plate.
Finally, dependence on public policies and subsidy volatility risks undermining progress. The sudden closure of schemes like the SFI worries farmers and can slow down virtuous dynamics. The agricultural transition can only succeed if it is sustained over time, with solid financial, technical, and human support.
Towards a Systemic Transformation of Agriculture
To truly impact the global mass of CO2, agricultural transformation must go beyond individual initiatives and be part of a systemic approach. This involves rethinking production models, but also consumption patterns, land management, and food governance.
Regenerative agriculture, which aims to restore soil health, strengthen biodiversity, and reduce inputs, emerges as a promising model. However, it requires a profound overhaul of sectors, a partial relocalization of food systems, and a revaluation of the farming profession.
Dialogue between farmers, consumers, public authorities, and scientists is essential. It is about co-constructing solutions adapted to each territory, integrating both climate imperatives, economic viability, and social justice. Public investments must be targeted at innovation, training, and transition support.
What Role for the Consumer and Civil Society?
The success of low-carbon agriculture also depends on consumer choices. Favoring local, seasonal products from environmentally friendly practices supports the transition. Combating food waste, reducing meat consumption, and supporting short supply chains are all levers within everyone’s reach.
Citizen movements, associations, and NGOs play a key role in raising awareness, supporting transitioning farmers, and challenging public authorities. Collective mobilization can accelerate the adoption of new practices and create a virtuous dynamic at the national and international level.
Adopting responsible consumption also means demanding transparency on the environmental impact of products and supporting ambitious policies in favor of agroecology. This transformation will only be possible if all of society commits to it.
Low-Carbon Agriculture: One of Many Solutions for the Climate
In conclusion, agricultural initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions offer encouraging prospects, but their overall impact remains limited. The efforts of pioneers like Jonathan Smith or Andrew Brewer show the way, but the generalization of these practices requires a profound transformation of food and agricultural systems, supported by coherent public policies and citizen mobilization.
Reducing the global mass of CO2 involves an integrated approach, combining emission reduction, carbon sequestration, adaptation to climate change, and social justice. Agriculture alone cannot solve the climate crisis, but it can contribute significantly if it is part of a collective and systemic dynamic.
The question remains open: will we be able to make agriculture a powerful ally in the fight to reduce greenhouse gases, or will we remain prisoners of isolated initiatives with marginal effects? The challenge is immense, but the window of opportunity is still open. It is up to the sector’s actors, civil society, and decision-makers to seize it.
Sources
- https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/
- https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-68801964
- https://www.conservation.org/stories/why-does-agriculture-matter-for-climate-change
- https://www.agencebio.org/actualites/agriculture-biologique-et-changement-climatique/
- https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2023/09/11/l-agriculture-un-des-secteurs-les-plus-difficiles-a-decarboner_6188817_3244.html
