Keywords: carbon-cycle, estimates, greenhouse gas intensities, renewable energy demand;, sustainable agriculture
Abstract
Agriculture contributes a significant portion in total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in the world in which India is contributing around 7%. Implementation of new policies aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural sector is now a major concern in the world. To implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7.0 of United Nations in agriculture and allied sectors, it has become necessary to generate policies regarding implementation of modern renewable energy sources as a substitute of conventional sources. In this context, a study was conducted to determine the amount of energy used in vegetable production in Karnataka state of India based on real time data collected during the agricultural year 2021-23. Data was collected using a modified stratified two stage random sampling scheme. Data on details of basic energy inputs and outputs were collected, and survey-weighted estimates were generated. Parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) using stochastic frontier analysis was applied to distinguish between the efficient and non-efficient farm households in the study area. Furthermore, the estimates of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced from each process involved during the production of a crop emphasize the urgent need for the formulation of policies aimed at sensitizing farm households towards efficient use of natural resources to mitigate the problem of global warming.
