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New study released on options for climate-friendly agriculture

Working closely with scientists at the universities of Hohenheim in Germany and Aarhus in Denmark, FiBL authors have produced a study of the agricultural policy options available to put farming on a climate-smart course.

Titled "Mitigating Greenhouse Gases in Agriculture - A challenge and opportunity for agricultural policies", the new study explores the manner and extent to which agriculture contributes to climate change, and reveals the options to mitigate it. Building on detailed analysis of present agricultural and climate policies in three regions – the European Union, Indonesia (wet rice) and Brazil (soy, bioethanol) – the authors pinpoint the action that can be taken to make agriculture climate-friendly.

These range from strategies to increase humus levels and reduce nitrous oxide losses through improved nutrient cycling, to the cultivation of low-emitting rice varieties and introduction of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).

The study was conducted on behalf of Bread for All (www.bfa-ppp.ch, Switzerland), Bread for the World (www.brot-fuer-die-welt.de, Germany), Church of Sweden (www.svenskakyrkan.se) and DanChurchAid (www.danchurchaid.org, Denmark).

Further information

Contacts at FiBL

  • Adrian Müller, Socio-Economics, FiBL Switzerland
  • Andreas Gattinger, Subject leader Climate, FiBL Switzerland

The study

Adrian Müller1), Julia Jawtusch1), Andreas Gattinger1), Friedhelm Göltenboth2) and Jørgen Olesen3) (2011): Mitigating Greenhouse Gases in Agriculture - A challenge and opportunity for agricultural policies. Bread for the World (Germany) in cooperation with Bread for All (Switzerland), DanChurchAid and Church of Sweden. Prepared by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick (Switzerland). Bread for the World, Stuttgart. Available online at http://www.brot-fuer-die-welt.de/downloads/fachinformationen/greenhouse-gases.pdf

1) Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL)
2) University of Hohenheim (section 8.2 of the study)
3) Aarhus University (section 8.3 of the study)

Links