POTENTIAL IMPACT OF CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE (CSA) PRACTICES ON COTTON PRODUCTION AND REDUCTION IN GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS IN SOUTH PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an innovative approach compared to conventional resource-intensive farming. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of climate-smart practices in cotton production and the reduction potential of GHG emissions due to optimized use of farm inputs and conservative farm operations in the core cotton zone of Punjab (Khanewal and Bahawalpur). The adopters of CSA (n=200) and non-adopters of CSA (n=50) were randomly selected, and the data were collected using well-structured questionnaires in the cotton-growing season. CSA practices/technologies include using resilient cotton varieties, laser land leveling, sustainable farm operations, optimized fertilizer inputs, integrated pest management, and efficient irrigation. The analytical tools viz., descriptive statistics and a Tobit regression model were used to analyze the adoption impact of CSA interventions. In contrast, Cool Farm Tool (open-source software) estimated GHG emissions during cotton production. The statistical comparison analysis revealed that adopters of CSA were significantly (p≤0.001) far better than non-adopters of CSA in the efficient resource utilization and produced high cotton yield (887.90 kg acre^-1) with the maximum net return (21,017.99 PKR acre^-1) and good benefit-cost ratio (1.37). Our results also depicted that widespread adoption of CSA interventions has the potential to minimize GHG emissions by 25.87% (1258.11 kg CO₂ e acre^-1) as compared to the non-adopters of CSA (1697.14 kg CO₂ e acre^-1), thus helping in reducing climatic risks in agricultural production systems besides improving resource utilization, enhance crop productivity and farmers’ income. The study's findings will help create an enabling policy environment to minimize farmers’ financial load by adopting CSA practices and scaling up among the farming communities of the entire province and beyond.