Did you know that agriculture poses one of the biggest dangers to the planet with carbon dioxide emission – the main contributor to global warming? How can the growing global population be fed while reducing environmental footprints? In this article, we discuss the impact agriculture has on our environment while proffering solutions for sustainable agriculture.

1. Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter
February 16, 2018

2. INTRODUCTION
When people think about threats to their
environment, what comes to their mind is
industrial pollution and car emission, not the
food they eat. The truth is that, our efforts in
poverty reduction and finding solution to end
hunger, are making agriculture a major ‘killer’
of the mother earth.
2 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter
Agriculture is posing one of the biggest
dangers to the planet with carbon dioxide
emission – the main contributor to global
warming. An analyses by the World Resources
Institute (WRI) and the UN Food and
Agricultural Organization (UN FAO) estimated
that between 14 and 18 percent of all man-
made emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are
associated with the agricultural sector. Even
the lowest estimate (14 percent) is still equal
with WRI’s estimated emissions for the
transportation sector (13.5 percent).
This means that, agriculture is among the
greatest contributors to global warming,
emitting more greenhouse gases (GHG) than
all our cars, trucks, trains, and airplanes
combined. The GHG in agricultural sector is
largely from methane (CH4) released by
cattle and rice farms, nitrous oxide (N2O)
from fertilized fields, and carbon dioxide from
the cutting of rain forests to grow crops or
raise livestock. So, are we being naïve to feed
the rapidly growing global population, and
threaten our own existence?

3. How Agriculture Pollutes Environment
• Need to feed the world
As in most other sectors, agricultural carbon
footprint is fast increasing, since farming is
expanding to produce more food for a growing
world population. In fact, food production will need
to double from current levels if projections of more
than 9 billion people in 2050 prove correct. So
meeting the growing demand for food by using more
land would have serious impacts on the
environment and the climate. Remember that areas
that are most suitable for agriculture in most
countries are already cultivated to a large extent,
making fertile agricultural land a limited resource
across the world.
The fact is that massive unguided farming is never
the solution to end poverty, because the more we
engage in such activities, the more climate change
continue to affect the quality and quantity of food
we produce.
3 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter
• Spread of prosperity
The uplifted living standard and spread
of prosperity across the world,
especially in the world’s most populated
countries – China and India, is driving an
increased demand for balance diet such
as meat, eggs, and dairy. This has added
pressure to cultivate more foods and
engage in more animal husbandry more
livestock husbandry. Unfortunately, key
resources such as land and water
needed to produce these foods are
scarce globally.

4. 4 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter
• Animal husbandry
While the majority of global warming activities give
off carbon dioxide – the main contributor to global
warming, but it is not the only greenhouse gas to
worry about. The next two most common GHG in
the atmosphere are methane (CH4) and nitrous
oxide (N2O), primarily emitted by agricultural
sector. Most of this methane are emitted by cows,
which also are more damaging to the environment.
For instance, ruminant animals (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) produce methane as
part of their normal digestion system – a process known as enteric fermentation. In fact,
according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the CH4 produced from
“enteric fermentation” (cows farting) represents almost one-third of the emissions from the
U.S. agricultural sector.

5. 5 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter
Also, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO)
report on ‘Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Emissions by
Sources and Removals by Sinks’ shows that, around 40% of
agricultural emissions came from methane produced by livestock
between 2001 and 2011, not including emissions from manure
(25% of agricultural emissions). Together, these gases plus CO2
make up about 99 percent of all GHG in the atmosphere.

6. 6 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter

7. 7 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter
Similar to many other land-use changes, converting
forest areas into agricultural land is not the right
solution to end hunger. This process is a source of
greenhouse-gas emissions and undermines nature’s
ability to cope with climate change impacts, such as
absorbing heavy rainfall, that threaten food security
globally. For instance: Palm oil production has been
[polluting] Southeast Asia
Every year in Indonesia, fires are set to cheaply clear
land and make it more suitable for palm oil
plantations and other uses. In some cases, rainforests
are burned down, destroying wildlife habitat. In other
cases, the flames consume drained and dried
peatlands, which when lit produce enormous amounts
of toxic smoke, as they smolder deep in the soil and
are fiendishly hard to extinguish. Either way, over
time more and more land that was once wild (and full
of wildlife) is giving way to neatly ordered rows of oil
palms. Paper and palm oil companies have been
widely blamed for this pollution levels that are
hazardous to health.
Palm oil is a key export for the nation’s
economy, and a crucial source of income
and jobs. But the government often
dismisses calls for more sustainable
production methods, and Indonesia has
become the world’s worst global
warming offender by some calculations.
This pollution has affected neighbouring
nations. For example, in Malaysia,
schools have been closed in the capital,
Kuala Lumpur, and several other areas,
while Singaporeans are being advised to
avoid strenuous activity outdoors.

8. Solution for sustainable agriculture
How can the rapid growing global population be fed with minimal environmental
footprints?
The answer lies in a sustainable agricultural system – a form of agricultural technique that
provides foods and industrial inputs to serve the needs of the present generation without
posing socio-environmental risks and compromising the ability of the future generations to
meet their own needs.
8 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter
We can start to tackle food waste in
economically rich countries where food
waste occurs in homes, restaurants, or
supermarkets, as well as in developing
countries where food is often lost
between the farmer and the market due
to unreliable storage and transportation.
A shift to increase yields on less
productive farmlands, using high-tech or
clean-tech, precision farming systems,
and organic farming would also be
effective ways to reducing agricultural
footprints.

9. Retrospect
• Sustainable Innovation: A Solution to Africa’s Poverty II
• How Africa Can Eliminate Poverty with Market-Creating Innovation I
• Can Businesses Really Exist Without Causing Harm?
• Why Extractive-Based Nations Fail: Between Resource and Knowledge-Based
Economies
• 2018: The Nigeria We Want
• Towards The Bleak Future of Crude Oil: What Nigeria Should Do Now
• Fiscal Sustainability: Between Nigeria’s Debt Plan and the 2018 Budget
• Mainstreaming Street Hawking in a Formal Economy: An Inclusive Approach
to Development
• Nigeria’s Economic Growth in 2018 and the Hope of the ‘Common Man’.
• The Reality of Nigeria’s Recession Exit: Between GDP Growth and
Sustainable Development
• Financial Inclusion: Are Nigerian Banks Getting it Right?
9 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter

10. Reference
1. Agriculture and climate change. European Environment Agency, 16 Dec 2016
2. Feeding the World: A Five-Step Plan to Feed the World. National Geographic
Magazine
3. How Much Does Agriculture Contribute to Global Warming? Pierce Nahigyan
4. Haze chokes Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. BBC News, 15 September 2015
5. 6 ways agriculture impacts global warming. Collin Dunn, November 19, 2009
6. Frankenstates: Winning the agriculture tech war Mark Koba, June 23, 2014
7. Cow clipart methane
10 | Why Agriculture is a major environmental polluter

11. About
CSR-in-Action is a conglomerate of 3 sustainability driven
businesses; Consulting, Training and Advocacy. Our mission is to
redefine the sustainability terrain in Africa, through collaborative
strategies with key stakeholders aimed at attaining higher levels of
corporate governance, workplace and sustainable philanthropy.
We have a clear vision to propel collective transformative action in
Africa by promoting responsibility amongst all entities in their day-
to-day individual or business activities.
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