FARMING OPERATIONS THAT ACCELERATE CLIMATE CHANGE

While in general humans are the major instruments for accelerated climate change, the varied activities including farming or agriculture (also aquaculture) are a major cause of this phenomena. Climate Change Fact Sheet describes climate changes as: “Climate change is a long-term shift in the climate of a specific location, region or planet. The shift is measured by changes in features associated with average weather, such as temperature, wind patterns and precipitation. What most people don’t know is that a change in the variability of climate is also considered climate change, even if average weather conditions remain the same.” (http://www.thegreatwarming.com/pdf/ClimateChangeFactSheet.pdf).

Even the mere process of land conversion from forest to crop land contribute immensely to climate change. Trees are among the highest buffer for carbon dioxide conversion. Unused or unconverted carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases that contributes to global warming. Opening up a forest land for crop plantations, reduces CO2 absorptive rate by as much as 70 percent

According to the International Panel on Climate Change it accounts for up to 12% of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions (http://www.pan-europe.info/Resources/Factsheets/Climate_change.pdf). Intensive farm operations for annual or cash crops like rice, corn, sugarcane, etc. accounts for the highest precursor due to the heavy application Nitrogenous fertilizers like urea and other nitrate forms in order to boost yields. Nitrous oxide released from these fertilizers is one of those identified as greenhouse gases or which causes the heating of the earth's atmosphere similar to that of a greenhouse where the inside temperature is much higher than that outside.

Urea is the common fertilizer source in the Philippines. This is a 100 percent imported source as it is manufactured from petrochemicals. According to experts, only up to 60% of the urea broadcasted to the field during fertilization is utilized by the plant and the rest is gasified as nitrous oxide and escape to the air. While in other countries, environment-friendly forms of urea is now being promoted and widely used, particularly the slow-release types which slowly dissolve and is used by the plant over a longer period, farmers in the Philippines still use the basic forms which immediately dissolve upon contact with water. Once dissolved, urea is immediately converted into soluble forms and are absorbed by the plants. However once liquid, it is also easily converted to ammonia and therefore escapes as nitrous oxide.

Rice farms like those found in the province where stretches of hundreds of hectares are found in areas like Pototan, Dingle and Barotac Nuevo are prime contributors to greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. So are sugarcane farms in Central Iloilo and the corn farms in Northern Iloilo. Despite the ban on burning of rice straw, corn stubbles, sugarcane leaves and other organic wastes, many farmers still follow the traditional method of burning as the easiest way to clear the land prior to land preparation. “Globally, biomass burning is estimated to produce 40 percent of the carbon dioxide, 32 percent of the carbon monoxide, 20 percent of the particulates, and 50 percent of the highly carcinogenic poly-aromatic hydrocarbons produced by all sources (Levine)”. (http://www.burningissues.org/lukebiomass.html).

Large livestock operations such as feedlot cattle and ranches for cattle, goats and sheep are also prime culprits in accelerating climate change. Cattle, goats and sheep are ruminants and produce methane inside their digestive system. The gas escapes directly to the atmosphere and at the same time the manure still undergoes decomposition which also produce methane or biogas.

Large piggeries also are large producers of methane gas because of the decomposition of manure. A pig produces about 3 to kilograms of wet manure and urine. A 100 sow level operation has about 1,000 heads of pigs of various ages at any given time. So collectively the said operation will produce at least 3 metric tons of fresh manure daily. Many of the commercial piggeries in Iloilo and Panay do not have sophisticated waste management systems and most of them have simple multi-compartment to first trap the manure in anaerobic chambers, gradually releasing them to open ponds. Methane produced in these chambers escape to the atmosphere without being utilized. A good waste management should be able to utilize the methane for many purposes like driving gas engines heat piglet nurseries nor used to cook feed stuff.

WHAT FARMERS SHOULD DO:

Farmers should do their share in slowing down climate change. In previous articles we explained how responsible farming can help. We have also written about farming systems that help mitigate the problem but offer better income streams as well as added or higher incomes. However farmers should also adopt other measures in order to reduce their carbon footprints. One's carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by one's activities in a given time frame. Usually a carbon footprint is calculated for the time period of a year. (http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition).

Burn less or none at all: This is one practice that helps not only the environment but the farmer himself. By decomposing his farm wastes like rice straws, etc., he turns them into rich organic matter that improves the fertility and texture of the soil, making crops grow better and produce more. Decomposing leguminous leaves and stalks offer the farmer an even bigger bonus since legume organic matter has higher nitrogen content which plants need in bigger amounts. Manures have high amounts of phosphates and using them as nutrient source for legumes results to better growth of legumes which have higher phosphate content that when decomposed can be used directly by the target crop.

More efficient waste management systems for livestock operations: There is a need for government regulating agencies to strictly implement environmental waste management especially for commercial livestock operations. These medium to large scale operations should not only put up both anaerobic and aerobic systems but should find a way to tap into the methane produced by their operation. But even backyard or small scale operations should likewise put up basic waste management not only to mitigate environmental pollution but also to reduce carbon dioxide emission from the hog manure.

Livestock operations do not only produce manure. Regular disinfection releases toxic chemicals to the canals which if not degraded will harm the environment. Thus, the waste water should be effectively modified prior to their disposal to the waterways of the community. Aside from the problem of the waste, the ammonia produced by the manure also releases foul odor to the immediate area that becomes a source of conflict between the operators and the community nearby. Thus, odor pollution should likewise be a primary concern of the livestock farmers. One solution for this problem is the creation of a thick layer of trees and vegetation that can effectively filter the ammonia and odor released by the farm so that even with strong winds, the odor is not transmitted to the community nearby.

INTEGRATED FARMING IS STILL THE BEST BET:

As in the previous articles, agriculture and farming in general should be integrated where there is no reliance on mono-crops. As cited earlier, the benefits derived from integrated farming far outweighs the advantages of mono crop agriculture. The shift should be on a wider range or levels where there is policy direction from the top level government managers. Farmers should not also be complacent especially that the changing climate is wreaking havoc on crop patterns. The usual dry climate during summer months is not anymore true to type. Rains fall even during the months of February, the period for watermelons which need a relatively dry climate to have sweeter fruits. Also, too much moisture will predispose the watermelons to diseases and poor quality fruit.

The effects of the erratic weather systems can somehow be lessened by lowering the risks of each particular farming operation. Advance weather prediction system can also help a lot especially now that governments worldwide have data sharing agreements. Local farmers in Iloilo and Panay should have ready access to these data by tapping the internet and designing the cropping patterns or farming systems so as to reduce risks of total crop loss.