Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Agriculture: Problems And Solutions

When it comes to climate change, the first few reasons that come to mind are cars, factories, and power plants. What most of us fail to realise is that agriculture plays a much bigger role in this. Across the world, farms are feeding people while also contributing to greenhouse gas emissions in the process. Let’s learn more about it in this post.

How Farming Produces Greenhouse Gases?

From how you till the soil to how you feed livestock, each step can release different kinds of emissions. The most common gases are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. 

Methane comes mainly from livestock and rice paddies. Cows and buffaloes release it during digestion, and waterlogged fields create the perfect condition for microbes that generate more of it. Fertilisers, especially those rich in nitrogen, release nitrous oxide when they're overused or applied at the wrong time. When forests are cleared to grow crops, carbon stored in trees and soil is pushed back into the air. All of this adds up, and even though it is not visible like smoke from a chimney, it’s there.

Livestock Farming And The Production of Methane

Animals raised for milk, meat, or labour produce methane as a natural part of their digestion. Burps from cattle are a significant contributor to global warming. 

The solution here isn't about reducing livestock, but rather about changing how they're raised and fed. Feed quality matters, and so does how animal waste is handled. Some farmers are beginning to utilise biogas systems that convert methane from manure into energy for household use. However, scaling this up takes training, incentives, and infrastructure.

The Fertiliser Challenge in Crop Production

Nitrous oxide is significantly more potent than carbon dioxide, yet it is not discussed enough. It's released mostly through chemical fertilisers that don’t get absorbed by crops and instead react in the soil. More fertilizer doesn’t always mean more yield, but it often means more emissions.

All you need to do is use fertilizer more precisely, only when and where it’s needed. In practice, though, that means farmers need support. Soil testing, better irrigation, and access to organic inputs can all help. 

Why is Rice Farming a Big Methane Contributor?

Rice is a staple for millions, but its farming method contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Flooded paddies in warm climates create low-oxygen conditions that favour the growth of methane, making rice one of India's primary agricultural sources of this gas.

Methods like alternate wetting and drying can reduce methane emissions, but adoption is still patchy due to water management needs.

Clearing Forests For Agriculture Adds To The Problem

In several parts of India, forests are cleared to make room for agriculture. While it might solve one problem, namely food production, it creates another by releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere. 

Agroforestry offers a middle ground. Farmers grow crops alongside trees, restoring some of the forests’ carbon-absorbing capacity without giving up land. It balances productivity and sustainability within existing farming routines.

The Role Renewable Energy Can Play On Farms

Agriculture isn’t just about crops. It also consumes energy for irrigation, storage, and processing. Using diesel generators or unreliable grid power increases emissions. Renewable energy can help. Solar-powered irrigation pumps in rural India reduce fuel use, cut emissions, and save money. Clean-energy storage solutions, like cold chains, are emerging. Companies such as Hero Future Energies are building scalable solutions to lower energy-related emissions across agriculture and other sectors.

Post-Harvest Waste And Hidden Emissions

The emissions story doesn’t end at harvest. Much of these emissions begin after harvest. Spoiled food wastes the water, fuel, and fertilizer used to grow it, and decomposing waste in landfills releases methane. 

Improving storage, transport, and processing can help, but this requires investment in local infrastructure and technology. Even basic solutions like solar dryers or cold storage can reduce post-harvest losses and related emissions.

Policy Gaps And What Holds Back Progress

Much of what can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is already known; the real challenge is applying it consistently in daily practice. Programs exist to improve fertiliser use or provide subsidies for solar pumps and biogas systems, but coordinated efforts are limited. 

Farmers face uncertainty—hesitating to adopt new methods without clear returns or access to the right tools. Trust and long-term, consistent support are crucial, as short-term or shifting policies make planning and implementing climate-smart practices difficult.

Technology Needs To Be Simple And Local

Tech-driven agriculture is exciting, and it includes satellite monitoring, drip fertigation, and AI-powered advisories. But unless that technology is personalized to smallholders, it won't reach the people who need it most. The most innovative developments in agriculture are often those that seem simple.

Conclusion

Agriculture is central to India’s future. It feeds over a billion people, sustains rural livelihoods, and is deeply tied to tradition. Yet it also contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, and ignoring this has consequences. The good news is that solutions exist. Companies like Hero Future Energies are developing renewable systems that play a crucial role in the clean energy transition of agriculture. For impact at scale, public policy, private efforts, and farmer knowledge must advance together.