Journal of Global Ecology and Environment

Climate change impacts are making agricultural production systems increasingly vulnerable to meeting the growing food demands of the global population. In India, the challenge is even greater, as only 3.73% of agricultural land supports 17.76% of the world's population. To ensure safe food for all, agricultural practices must shift towards sustainability and climate resilience, particularly given that over 80% of farmers in India are smallholders with an average landholding of 0.38 hectares. Various initiatives have been attempted to enhance sustainability in food production, but measuring their impact remains difficult without universally accepted indices for climate-resilient agriculture (Zong et al., 2022). Agriculture, as the second-largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter, also has the potential to serve as a major carbon sink, presenting an opportunity for GHG mitigation (Sieber et al., 2015). Sustainable agriculture and GHG mitigation are closely linked; a truly sustainable food production system will inherently contribute to GHG reduction. To establish a standardized method for carbon footprint measurement in sustainable agriculture in India, it is essential to consider the country's agro-climatic variations, cultural practices, mechanization levels, and soil sink capacities while adapting emission factors to IPCC guidelines. In this context, the Inhana Organic Research Foundation (IORF) has created the Agriculture Carbon Footprint Assessor (ACFA-version 1.0) in collaboration with various research institutions. This standard effectively measured the carbon mitigation potential of the IBM-IORF Sustainability Project in Mandya, Karnataka, showing that transitioning to sustainable practices could mitigate 251.55 mt of CO₂e/ha. This framework uniquely integrates region-specific parameters such as agro-climatic variability, input-use patterns, and soil carbon dynamics, ensuring greater accuracy in carbon footprint estimation for Indian agricultural systems. It also enables a comprehensive assessment of both emission sources and carbon sequestration potential under diverse farming practices. This initiative represents a significant step towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and net-zero compliance in Indian agriculture.