Agriculture, climate change and carbon sequestration Introduction Human activities, especially burning of fossil fuels such as coal oil and gas have caused substantial increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The increase in atmospheric is causing measurable global warming. Potential adverse impacts include sea-level; increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, floods, droughts and tropical storms; changes in the timing, amount and distribution of rain, snow and run off; and disturbance of coastal marine and other ecosystems. Rising atmospheric CO2 is also increasing the absorption of CO2 by sea water, causing the ocean to become more acidic. Therefore mitigation of the consequences incurred from the effects, technically and economically feasible strategies are needed; Carbon capture and sequestration Carbon sequestration refers to the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Can occur through a variety of agricultural practices. It is one of the methods of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the aim of reducing global climate change. Through this there are two main types of carbon sequestration; geologic and biologic. I. Biological carbon sequestration This is roughly the storage of carbon dioxide in the vegetation like a) In forests: plant-rich landscapes like forests, rangeland and grasslands absorb about 25% of the global carbon emissions b) In soils: carbon can be sequestrated in soil by plants through photosynthesis. Sol can also store carbon as carbonates, the carbonates are organic and can store carbon for ten thousand of years. c) In grasslands: grasslands and rangelands are more reliable areas of storing carbon than forests due to rapid wildfires and deforestation affecting forest. Grasslands can sequester more carbon underground and when they burn, the carbon stays fixed in the roots and soil instead of woody biomass. II. Geological carbon sequestration This is where carbon dioxide is stored in underground geologic formations, such as in rocks. Industrial sources of carbon such as steel or cement production companies or energy related sources such as power plants or natural gas processing facilities will release will release their carbon dioxide, which is then injected into porous rocks for long-term storage. Such carbon capture and storage allows the use of fossil fuels until a substitute energy source is introduced on a large scale. What to do  Carbon farming  Afforestation and reforestation  Encourage farmers to leave crop residues in the field  Educate farmers about biochar (partly burning materials such as logging slash or crop waste to make a carbon-rich, slow to decompose substance)  Rock solutions  Direct air capture and storage  Bioenergy and bury This is an activity that will target the ministry of agriculture and large industrial sources of carbon in the country. Also the farmers(large scale and small scale) Compiled by peter karanga Peterkaranga73@gmail.com