Agri-Net-Zero Model
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its ‘Global Warming of 1.5°C; An IPCC Special Report’ in 2018, has categorically stated that, “Global warming poses severe risks to communities and ecosystems this century – the first impacts are already noticeable. To have a 50:50 chance of limiting global heating to 1.5°C, the world must reduce CO2 emissions to around net-zero by mid-century, with a decline of around 40-50% achieved by 2030.”
However, in its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) – published in 2021 – IPCC has highlighted the stark reality that instead of going towards halving the GHG emissions by 2030, we have actually gone on to increase the same by about 11% from 2015 till 2020! The trend is alarming, to say the least.
Offsetting of GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2 & 3) from its usual operations is of utmost necessity for every business entity – whether in the private or the government sector. It is the urgent need of the hour, for our own survival on this only inhabitable planet.
Most global business entities have declared their respective commitments, and associated timeline, for achieving ‘Net Zero’ status of GHG emissions from their activities. While most of these Net Zero programmes focus on conversion of energy sources from non-renewable to renewable ones; NONE of them can simultaneously attend the other most glaring challenge before mankind – our Food & Nutritional Security. It is ONLY the inimitable pathway of Agri-Net-Zero that can attend this dual objectivity of offsetting Carbon Footprint of an organization and produce safe & nutritious food at the same time!
SafeU offers inimitable models of Agri-Net-Zero that can be duly utilized by business organizations not only to fulfil their Net Zero commitments, but also to derive strategic advantage over peers & competitors on sustainability quotient.
Clean Food Net Zero
The most comprehensive model of Climate-Positive Agriculture that ensures utmost level of ecological sustainability along with economic sustainability for the farmers. The ecological sustainability aspects, in this model, attend some of the most critical crises of the present times like:
- Methane-emission mitigation from undiagnosed landfill agro-wastes like Coir Pith, Press Mud, Fruit & Vegetable Wastes, Municipal Solid Wastes and so on.
- Bio-conversion of the above hazardous agro-wastes to the most efficient organic compost, using the proprietary Novcom Composting Technology of IORF.
- Amelioration of degrading and/or degraded agricultural lands through application of this Novcom compost, that is scientifically proven to contain 10,000 to 1,000,000 times more microbial life forms per unit area than any other compost.
- Substitution of artificial Nitrate fertilizers (the primary source of N2O emission) and synthetic pesticides, through adoption of comprehensive Inhana Rational Farming (IRF) Technology protocols.
- Production of safe and sustainable food (vegetables, cereals, lentils, spices, fruits and so on) – where the safety is measured by scientific Colorimetric Assay Test (that detects any presence of harmful chemicals in the food); and the sustainability is measured in two ways:
- Economic Sustainability of farmers – change in cost of crop production (from chemical-intensive farming), along with the corresponding change in crop-yield.
- Ecological Sustainability – through Sustainable Agriculture Carbon Footprint Assessment (SACFA) Toolkit, developed by i-NoCarbon, London.
- Economic Sustainability of consumers – by ensuring that no exorbitant premium is levied on the retail price of this end produce.
It is no wonder that this single interventional model (CFNZ) is able to attend a multitude of the most critical SDGs; such as:
- Address rural poverty by increasing farmers’ income (SDG 1)
- Address hunger and the all-important issue of Food Security (SDG 2)
- Health and well-being of the consumers through ‘safe’ food (SDG 3)
- Build and maintain sustainable rural communities (SDG 11)
- Ensure responsible production of truly ‘safe’ food commodities (SDG 12)
- Ensure Double-pronged Climate Action (both Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation) which is possible ONLY through Sustainable Agriculture (SDG 13)
- Ensure reclamation of degraded, and rejuvenation of depleted, soils (SDG 15)
Clean Tea Net Zero
Tea is the second most consumed drink across the world, preceded by water! However, more than 99% of the tea we drink is laden with traces of pesticides and related harmful chemicals (often those with carcinogenic properties). It has been an extremely important cash crop, with a global market size in excess of $122 billion in 2022, for more than a century now. Sustainable tea production, quite unfortunately, has remained a utopian idea across the world – given the commercial compulsions of the industry. India, the second largest producer and consumer of tea in the world, is no exception.
Inhana Organic Research Foundation (IORF) has been the first and ONLY torch-bearer of Sustainable Agricultural practices in the Indian tea sector since early 2000’s – having developed the world’s first Carbon-Neutral Tea Estate (West Jalinga Tea Estate in Barak Valley, Assam) that became a finalist in the World Tea Awards (2008) in the “Sustainable Tea Initiatives” category.
CTNZ Model is the ultimate form of regenerative sustainable tea cultivation encompassing all the elements of the CFNZ Model – viz. Methane emission mitigation, bio-degradation of hazardous landfill wastes, amelioration of depleted soils, production of safe & sustainable food (tea, in this case); along with all necessary scientific assessments and certifications.
Clean Seed Net Zero
Clean Seed (or Clean Planting Material) is the quintessential starting point of any comprehensive truly Sustainable Organic Agriculture initiative. However, in real life good quality seeds are difficult to come by, let alone high-quality or Clean Seeds (including other planting materials). And in this scenario, Clean Seed Net Zero is almost a surreal proposition.
However, SafeU has designed practical models of producing Clean Seed Net Zero for high-valued horticultural items – that include potato, ginger, bell peppers and many other important crops.
This inimitable model can not only be used by our clients for offsetting their Carbon Footprint (leading to the coveted Net Zero status), but also to create a unique and essential imprint in the global value chain of climate-resilient, regenerative Sustainable Organic Agriculture.
Waste-To-Wealth Model
While non-biodegradable wastes get the major share of attention, and rightly so, in the domain of waste management (i.e. effective controlling of environmentally hazardous wastes produced by the various sectors of our economy); agro-wastes are often neglected and remain undiagnosed (if not totally unidentified). However, these agro-wastes have the potential to be equally hazardous to the environment, if not more.
Two classic cases in point, will be that of Coir Pith and Press Mud:
- India happens to be the largest producer of coconuts in the world; and, hence, that of Coir Pith (the dust-like, bulk waste material of the Coir Fibre industry) as well. We produce more than 3 million tonnes of Coir Pith every year, having a potential of annual Methane emission in excess of 18 million mtCO2e if left untreated (which is most often the case)!
- India also happens to be the second largest producer of sugarcane in the world, producing about 355 million tonnes of this crop annually. And being the largest producer of sugar (more than 30 million tonnes) in the world; almost the entire sugarcane grown in India is used for producing sugar. This production process is estimated to yield about 10 million tonnes of Press Mud as a waste every year; that can potentially emit more than 50 million mtCO2e if left untreated (which is usually the case)!
India faces significant challenge from other agro-wastes as well – like fruit & vegetable wastes, organic component of our Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW), other menaces like Water Hyacinth and so on.
SafeU has developed validated models of quickest bio-conversion (21 days) of these hazardous agro-wastes to the most efficient organic compost using the proprietary Novcom Composting Technology of IORF.
SafeU Sustainability & Agri-Net-Zero Pathways is a pioneering entity that can deliver scientifically validated, practically demonstrated and academically acclaimed business models of Agri-Net-Zero that can attend 7 most critical SDGs (1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13 & 15) through single-point interventions – that we customize for our clients, enabling them to attain their strategic objectives of ESG, CSR, Sustainability, De-carbonization, Carbon Offsetting and Net Zero.