Govt plans Rs 65,000-crore project to reduce greenhouse gases from agriculture

India is set to roll out its most integrated programme yet to cut greenhouse gases from agriculture. The project is primarily aimed at protecting the country’s five biggest vulnerable ecological landscapes, according to a two officials familiar with the matter.

The programme will cover Madhya Pradesh’s Chambal region, Dampa in Mizoram, Odisha’s Similipal, Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan besides a national wildlife corridor through Uttarakhand, the officials said.

The programme, involving the agriculture and environment ministries, is part of a global initiative of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a partnership 183 countries, including India.

Agriculture activities are widely known to emit three kinds of harmful gases: carbon dioxide from soil cultivation, methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from fertilizers. Greenhouse emissions are a significant driver of climate change by trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and causing global warming, according to FAO