Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture – Part 1

From COP23 in 2017, the SBSTA and SBI were asked to jointly address agricultural issues, considering the vulnerabilities of agriculture and food security to climate change.  At this meeting in Bonn, a series of workshops were held under the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture. 

Talks focused on agricultural soil carbon, health, and fertility. Claire Chenu, Professor of Soil Sciences at the AgroParisTech, gave the keynote presentation on soil carbon as the key to addressing vulnerabilities of agriculture to climate change and food security issues.  She noted that there is three times more carbon in soils than in the atmosphere. Soils provide essential ecosystem services including those related to agriculture, biodiversity, forests, water quality, cultural services, landscaping, and nutrients.  Organic matter in soils provide further ecosystem services including structure, water infiltration and retention, aeration, nutrient provision, and habitat for beneficial organisms.  Protection of soils is important for food security and agricultural resilience, and furthers Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

·       SDG 2.4 (Zero Hunger/Sustainable Food Production),

·       SDG 3.9 (Good Health and Well-Being/Reducing Soil Pollution),

·       SDG 12.4 (Responsible Consumption and Production/Sound Chemical Management), and

·       SDG 15.3 (Protect Life on Land/Restore Degraded Land and Soil).

There are two main strategies in soil protection: 1) Protect existing soil organic carbon stocks (e.g., by avoiding the plowing of grasslands), and 2) Improve soil carbon stocks (e.g., by returning crop residues to the soil).  The size of the organic carbon pool depends on inputs (such as by primary production, and through exogenous organic matter) and outputs (such as leaching, erosion, biodegradation and mineralization).  Options for soil protection include increasing primary production, supplementing soils through organic inputs, reducing tillage, and using conservation agriculture or agroforestry methods. 

There are some noteworthy challenges to modifying soil conservation practices to increase soil carbon stocks. Inputs of water and nutrients may be needed and are not always available. Biological nitrogen fixation can be used instead of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, however. There may also be some negative social impacts resulting from land use change to carbon farming that may lead to pressure on land tenure and family farming. By providing an enabling environment that includes training, capacity building, credit, investment, land tenure security, and incentives, and addressing these challenges from the onset, risks can be reduced, and project benefits maximized.

While various measures may be used to increase soil carbon stocks, eventually carbon storage limits will be reached. However, ecosystem services including improved soil productivity will continue. In response to a question from the audience, Ms. Chenu clarified that these measures are not meant to offset agricultural emissions but to be part of the portfolio of solutions. Enhancing soil carbon stocks is a mitigation and adaptation measure with many worthwhile co-benefits.

Following the opening keynote address, representatives from various countries and organizations provided presentations. The following represents some highlights from the talks.

·       Brazil – Gustavo Mozer:  In the 1970s, Brazil was far from being a food secure country because agricultural practices involved intensive tillage for seed bed preparation and weed management.  Brazil invested in agriscience by establishing six research centers and employing over 650 researchers. They now have programs in tropical agriculture including plant breeding, animal breeding, and advanced soil conservation. Through these programs, they aim to address multiple benefits including carbon balance.  Forty years later, Brazil became a relevant export country. 

·       United States - Karen Ross, Secretary of CA Dept of Food and Agriculture: California has the 5^th largest economy in the world and is home to 40 million people and 77,000 farms, producing over 400 crops. They have recently suffered from the most severe droughts and wildfires in history, so they felt compelled to increase their efforts to curtail emissions. They have set a goal of 40% emission reductions below 1990 levels by 2030.  As one of their six strategies to reach this goal, they turned to improved soil management and health and have been working with the agricultural sector on reducing greenhouse gases.  Their Healthy Soils Initiative, a collaboration of partners and state departments, promotes healthy soils on CA farmlands and ranchlands. They also have a program of Climate Smart Agriculture and strive to ensure every farmer has the opportunity to ensure long-term productivity and food security.

·       Philippines on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprised of 10-member states: They represent more than 1/3 of world population, and more than half of the population is under the age of 30. They employ the ASEAN Guidelines on soil and nutrient management to promote climate resilient agricultural production. Included in this is good soil and nutrient management practices, use of the FAO-UNESCO Soil Classification System, and fertilizer amendment labelling compliance.

·       Russian Federation - State Program for the Development of Agriculture and Regulation of Agricultural Commodity Markets. To reduce risks, they cultivate high yield, climate-adapted crops. Overall, their winter crops are doing well due to warmer winters, but their summer crops are not. They employ forest reclamation and afforestation belts to reduce drought, water loss and wind erosion, increase yields, and protect flora and fauna. They are implementing Stalin’s Plan for Nature Transformation, which includes forest protection, crop rotation, and protection of lakes and ponds. Through these measures, they have seen a decrease in evaporation by 15% and a reduction in soil salinization in agricultural areas. They are in the process of preparing for ratification of the Paris Agreement. 

·       Senegal – Lamine Diatta, Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development; represents countries in Africa. They have a diverse range of soil and land use systems, some comprising very large land areas, some with infertility or low fertility (based on the level of soil organic matter). The government has committed to sustainable resolution of soil fertility loss. They use a national framework for strategic investment on sustainable land management (CNIS-GDT). Agroforestry methods they employ include assisted natural regeneration, protection of grazing areas, improved pasture lands, composting of organic matter, conservation of water to reduce water runoff, and small-scale irrigation programs. They shared lessons learned, including 1) Tradeoffs between soil carbon storage and soil fertility/productivity; 2) Biomass as the main source of carbon inputs, with land degradation is a major driver of loss; 3) Soil lab analyses are costly and challenging; and 4) A need to set up low cost and accurate tools for monitoring and reporting C flux. For information on the models they use to estimate the carbon sequestration potential of Senegal arable soil, please see Century Model - Tschakert, 2004, and RothC model – Loum et al., 2014.