16 research outputs found
Chanje Lavi Plantè in Haiti: Hillside soil conservation as a measure to increase yields and sequester carbon in Haiti
Analysis of the potential mitigation impacts of the
agricultural development project Chanje Lavi
Plantè in Haiti indicated that large amounts of
carbon sequestration could be achieved through
reforestation and perennial crop expansion. The
project’s strategy for watershed and landscape
restoration links investments in profitable
orchard systems with hillside stabilization.
Reforestation of watersheds (–478,828
tCO2e/yr) and perennial crop expansion (–
230,854 tCO2e/yr), drive 98% of the project’s
sizable climate change mitigation co-benefits
that are foreseen under successful project
implementation.
Chanje Lavi Plantè’s reduction in postharvest
loss contribute to the reduced GHG emission
intensity of cropping systems (GHG emissions
per unit of production). Interventions are
estimated to reduce postharvest loss
substantially in these value chains: plantain (–
53%), maize (–47%), rice (–44%), beans (–50%)
and mango (–35%).
The investments made by the project in irrigation
infrastructure, terracing, and forest plantations
aim to increase financial revenues of
beneficiaries and reinforce the lasting provision
of ecosystem services
Resilience and Economic Growth in Arid Lands - Accelerated Growth in Kenya: Mitigation co-benefits of herd size and feed quality management
The agricultural development project Resilience and Economic Growth in Arid Lands – Accelerated Growth (REGAL-AG) has promoted improved livestock management that resulted in a decrease in net emissions of 10%. Since emissions from livestock account for the majority of Kenya’s agricultural emissions (95%), reduction of emissions in the livestock sector has high potential impact. REGAL-AG’s interventions have sought to improve links between livestock producers and buyers, to boost producer access to critical inputs, and to increase availability of timely market information, which resulted in a decrease in slaughter age for all livestock types. REGAL- AG anticipated that these dynamics, coupled
with the program outreach activities, could result in a 10% decrease in herd size, which drives the greater share of emission reductions. Increases in productivity (50–67%) and
decreases in absolute emissions (-10%) that resulted from REGAL-AG’s interventions
decreased the emission intensity 33-40% (emissions per unit production) for all livestock
types
Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement Activity II in Ghana: Climate change mitigation co-benefits from sustainable intensification of maize, soybean, and rice
An analysis of the potential climate change
mitigation impact of the project entitled
Agricultural Development and Value Chain
Enhancement Activity II (ADVANCE II) in Ghana
shows that an approximate reduction in
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 100% will
be possible. When project targets are achieved,
ADVANCE II will transform the project area from
a low net source of GHG emissions to roughly
carbon neutrality. *
ADVANCE II is estimated to achieve moderate
GHG mitigation benefits that are driven by soil
management improvements (-9,223 tCO2e/yr),
crop residue burning reductions (-4,249
tCO2e/yr), and alternate wetting and drying
(AWD) of irrigated rice (-858 tCO2e/yr).
The moderate increase in fertilizer and pesticide
use supported by the project leads to small
increases in GHG emissions (1,244 tCO2e/yr
and 2,514 tCO2e/yr respectively).
ADVANCE II provides important benefits for low
emission development (LED) by significantly
reducing the crop GHG emission intensity (GHG
emissions per unit of production). This is
achieved mainly through strong growth in
agricultural productivity and reductions in
postharvest losses
Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II: Efficiency gains in dairy production systems decrease GHG emission intensity
The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II
(RDCP) was estimated to have resulted in a
strong decrease in the GHG emissions intensity
of milk production, defined as the GHG
emissions per unit (liter) of milk produced.
Extensive cattle production systems reduced
their GHG emission intensity by an estimated -
4.11 tCO2e per 1000 l of milk (-60%), while
intensive production systems reduced their
intensity by an estimated -1.7 tCO2e/1000 l (-
47%). The decrease in GHG emission intensity
is evidence that RDCP made the value chain
more efficient and sustainable in climate change
mitigation terms.
RDCP’s productivity-oriented interventions
increased livestock herd size and cow weight.
As a consequence, total annual GHG emissions
in the project area increased by an estimated
18,980 tCO2e due to increased herd size and
34,904 tCO2e due to increased cow weight,
when compared to business-as-usual practices.
This represents a 12 percent increase in GHG
emissions.
The increase in milk output was proportionally
much larger than the associated increase in
GHG emissions. This increase in the efficiency
of dairy production systems was the basis for a
transformation to more sustainable production
patterns in intensive and extensive dairy
systems
Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement in Bangladesh: Mitigation co-benefits of nutrients and water use efficency
Analysis of potential mitigation in the
development project Accelerating Agriculture
Productivity Improvement (AAPI) in Bangladesh
showed a 2% reduction in greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions, driven by urea deep
placement (UDP) and alternate wetting and
drying (AWD) in flooded rice systems. Given
high emissions associated with conventional
irrigated rice production, this represents a
substantial reduction in emissions.
AAPI promotes UDP, a fertilization practice
known to increase nitrogen uptake efficiency.
Based on the project plan and progress of
implementation, UDP adoption was anticipated
on 1.1 million ha of aman rice and 700,000 ha of
boro rice. UDP is an example of the absolute
emission reductions that are possible when a
practice is widely implemented.
AAPI promotes AWD, an irrigation practice for
rice that reduces the amount of water used and
results in decreased emissions. AAPI tested
AWD on a pilot scale (21,000 ha). Climate
change mitigation benefits would increase
dramatically if adoption of AWD were more
widespread.
Due to increased rice yields, UDP and AWD
reduce the emission intensity (CO2e emitted per
kg production) from rice production by 10–48%
Peru Cacao Alliance: Carbon sequestration as a co-benefit of cacao expansion
The agricultural development project, Peru
Cacao Alliance (PCA), has contributed to climate
change mitigation. Estimated carbon
sequestration from perennial crop expansion,
which was –211,467 tCO2e metric tonnes of
carbon dioxide equivalent per year, more than
offset increased greenhouse gas emission
(GHG) from fertilizer and pesticide management
(10,286 tCO2e). The net difference, –201,180
tCO2e, is equivalent to the carbon content of
465,774 barrels of oil.
The agroforestry system promoted by PCA
included cacao and shade trees. Since PCA
could not provide definitive data detailing the
presence of existing shade trees compared to
the planting of new shade trees, this analysis did
not include carbon dynamics of shade trees. If
new trees were planted for shade, there would
be greater carbon uptake by the system than
presented in this analysis.
PCA reduced emissions intensity for cacao
(CO2e emitted per kg production) through
improved carbon sequestration and increased
yields. PCA improved cacao postharvest
handling (proper pod selection, storage, drying
and fermentation methods) by building
knowledge and capacity in producer
organizations
Better Life Alliance in Zambia: Climate change mitigation as a co-benefit of improved landscape, agroforestry, soil, and fertilizer management
Analysis of agricultural activities in the Better
Life Alliance (BLA) project in Zambia showed
potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG), mostly (85%) due to avoided savanna
degradation and conversion. The GHG impact
due to BLA’s interventions is estimated at
–902,531 tCO2e/yr, equivalent to saving
2,089,550 barrels of oil.
BLA’s business model linked prevention of
degradation and conversion of shrubland to
market-based incentives for agricultural crops,
thereby providing farmers with economic
incentives for conservation and climate change
mitigation.
BLA promoted a comprehensive approach to soil
fertility management. It promoted agroecological
approaches such as recycling farm
organic resources, planting nitrogen-fixing trees,
minimal tillage, and cover crops.
BLA reduced postharvest loss (PHL) through
improved product processing, storage, and
packaging. Changes in PHL were estimated for
groundnuts (–100%), maize (–40%), rice
(–80%), and soybeans (–67%), which
contributed to decreases in emission intensity
(GHG emissions per unit of production) for each
of these products
Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement through Market Expansion (PRIME) in Ethiopia: Mitigation co-benefits of livestock productivity
Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement
through Market Expansion (PRIME) showed a
notable decrease in emission intensity (GHG
emissions per unit of meat or milk). PRIME
enabled farmers to increase production
significantly, between 24% and 96%, which led
to a decrease in emission intensity ranging from
-4% to -42%.
Due to improvements in feed quantity, PRIME
projected an increase in average animal weight
for all livestock (8.3 million head), which resulted
in an increase in GHG emissions by an
estimated 1.5 million tCO2e/yr.
PRIME empowered stakeholders collectively to
design and establish plans for effective
management of pastures and water. The project
supported soil and water conservation
measures, enclosing degraded pastures,
selective bush thinning, and clearing the
invasive plant Prosopis. These practices
improved pasture plant quality and reduced bare
soil and overgrazing, which resulted in increased
sequestration of soil carbon. These grassland
improvements were estimated to sequester -0.1
million tCO2e/yr
ACCESO in Honduras: Mitigation co-benefits of perennial crop expansion, soil management, and livestock improvements
The agricultural development project ACCESO
reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and
led to net carbon sequestration due to perennial
crop expansion.
Increased fertilizer use was a moderate source
of emissions that was more than offset by
reduced emissions from other ACCESOsupported
practices, including improvements in
soil, water, and fertilizer management, and in
feed and grassland use by dairy cows.
Compared to conventional practices, ACCESOsupported
activities reduced emission intensity
(GHG emissions per kilogram of output) for
carrots (-106%), cabbages (-99%), maize
(-99%), and potatoes (-98%) compared to
conventional production methods. Emission
intensity increased due to greater fertilizer use
for plantain (55%) and coffee (247%)
A methodology for greenhouse gas emission and carbon sequestration assessments in agriculture: Supplemental materials for info series analyzing low emissions agricultural practices in USAID development projects
As many countries are increasing commitments to address climate change, national governments are exploring how they could best reduce the impact of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Agriculture is a major contributor to GHG emissions, especially in developing countries, where this sector accounts for an average of 35% of all GHG emissions. Yet many agricultural interventions can also help to reduce GHG impacts. This paper presents the methodology to estimate impacts of agricultural interventions on GHG emissions and carbon sequestration. This methodology is used in an analysis of several development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and presented as a series of case studies. The methodology allows users to estimate (1) GHG impacts at project scale, (2) GHG emissions by agricultural practice, and (3) GHG emissions per unit of output (i.e., GHG emission intensity). The presented approach is a rapid assessment technique that is well suited to provide an indication of the magnitude of GHG impacts and to compare GHG impact strength of different field activities or cropping systems. It is well adapted to a context of data scarcity, as is common in agricultural investment planning where aggregate data on agricultural land use and management practices are available but where field measurements of GHG and carbon stock changes are missing. This approach is instrumental to inform agricultural investment, project, and policy planners about challenges and opportunities associated with achieving and accounting for GHG emission reductions in agricultural development projects