Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan: Agriculture Sector

The agriculture sector in Pakistan contributed nearly 42 per cent of national greenhouse gas emissions in 2012. To address this, the document identifies twelve mitigation options, prioritizing five cost-effective measures: improving irrigation/water management, reducing methane from rice cultivation, implementing agroforestry, promoting better manure management, and limiting basmati rice crop burning. Together, these five priority measures are projected to reduce emissions by 11.83 MtCO2e by 2030, representing a 4.3 per cent reduction from the business-as-usual scenario.

• Agriculture is a major economic driver and emissions source in Pakistan, contributing 21.4 per cent of the country's GDP and employing 45 per cent of the workforce, while accounting for nearly 42 per cent of national greenhouse gas emissions in 2012.
• Enteric fermentation is the largest source of agricultural emissions, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the sector's total, although specific mitigation options for this source could not be quantified due to data uncertainties.
• Implementing agroforestry practices on an additional 3 per cent of agricultural land is the highest-impact priority option, with a projected reduction of 8.4 MtCO2e by 2030 and very low marginal abatement costs under $10 per tonne CO2e.
• Improving irrigation and water management could reduce emissions by 1.58 MtCO2e by 2030 by reducing the fuel used to pump groundwater, which currently involves approximately 1.2 million tube wells (200,000 electric and one million diesel).
• Adopting Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), Controlled Irrigation (CI), or dry seeding in rice cultivation could reduce methane emissions by 1.16 MtCO2e by 2030; AWD technology specifically has shown the potential to decrease CH4 emissions on pump-irrigated farms by nearly 70 per cent.
• A progressive ban on burning basmati rice crop residues, starting in 2018 and reaching 80 per cent penetration by 2030, is projected to reduce emissions by 0.54 MtCO2e and improve local air quality by reducing black carbon.
• Promoting better manure storage and management is estimated to reduce emissions by 0.15 MtCO2e by 2030, assuming a 10 per cent participation rate among farmers.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan: Agriculture Sector. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/fact-sheet-Pakistan-Agriculture-sector.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan: Agriculture Sector. n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/fact-sheet-Pakistan-Agriculture-sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan: Agriculture Sector |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/fact-sheet-Pakistan-Agriculture-sector.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndgreenhouse, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan: Agriculture Sector}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/fact-sheet-Pakistan-Agriculture-sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }