Agriculture and GhG
Agriculture generates between 10 and 12% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These will probably increase in the coming decades due to the growing demand for food and changes in diet.
Regenerative agriculture could offset up to 27 billion tons of CO2/year, nevertheless, it is a highly controversial solution due to measuring uncertainties and high associated costs involved.
Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerative agriculture describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle.
Based on 4 pillars: increase in the content of organic matter in soils, increase in biodiversity, stable carbon capture, and biological restoration of soils.
The steps are:
- Restore the chemical balances of the soil.
- Increase the biological carbon content in the soil.
- Increase biodiversity.
Carbon Farming
Carbon farming, through regenerative agriculture, mitigates the effects of climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere by fixing it in soils and biomass (plants and microorganisms) in ways that are stable, which prevents its loss as carbon dioxide or methane.
Regenerative Agriculture in the Middle East
Below are some examples of regenerative agriculture being practiced in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Lebanon:
- Saudi Arabia – Video of Al Baydha Project -Neal Spackman
- Jordan – Greening the Desert Project -Geoff & Nadia Lawton
- Lebanon – Scarabee Regenerative
Learn More
- Sustainable agriculture best practices
- Regenerative farming
- Why the Future of Agriculture Lies in Desert in Middle East Region?
- 16 Initiatives Redefining Food and Agriculture Across the Middle East
We live like squatters, not as if we owned the property
Thomas Edison