Agriculture
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The primary sources of methane emissions from agriculture are livestock enteric fermentation, livestock waste management, rice cultivation, and agricultural waste burning. Of these, livestock waste management offers the most viable, near-term opportunities for methane recovery and utilization.
Methane released from manure management systems can be captured and used as clean energy to produce electricity or to fuel gas-fired equipment such as engines, boilers, or chillers, which can meet part of a farm’s energy requirements. Proven techniques for recovery include covered anaerobic lagoons and a variety of anaerobic digester designs. With today’s technology, a wide range of opportunities exist internationally to abate livestock waste methane emissions at zero or negative economic cost. Plus, farms can achieve other environmental benefits related to improved livestock waste management.
To learn more, review the background information on the recovery and use of methane from manure management systems.
The Agriculture Technical Subcommittee in collaboration with Project Network members is leading the Partnership's efforts to reduce methane emissions from agricultural sources.
The subcommittee is developing an Action Plan to focus on key technologies, market assessment, project financing, country-specific needs, cooperative opportunities, and communication and outreach. The Agriculture Subcommittee is also investigating longer-term opportunities related to other agricultural sources that could merit further consideration in the future.
Outreach Material
- Methane to Markets Agriculture Fact Sheet (September 2006)
Subcommittee Documents
- Subcommittee Minutes (PDF, 17 pp., 151 KB) from Agriculture Subcommittee Meeting (22 April 2008)
- Subcommittee Minutes (PDF, 17 pp., 125 KB) from Agriculture Subcommittee Meeting (1 Nov 2007)
- Development of International Guidance for Characterizing the Environmental Performance of Anaerobic Digestion Systems (PDF, 2 pp., 19 KB) (October 2007)
- Development of an Improved Methodology for Determining Leakage Rates from Anaerobic Digestion Systems (PDF, 2 pp., 19 KB) (October 2007)
- Subcommittee Agenda (PDF, 2 pp., 45 KB) for the Agriculture Subcommittee meeting on 1 November 2007 in Beijing China.
- Action Plan: Agriculture Subcommittee (PDF, 13 pp., 139 KB) (October 2007)
- Workshop Report (PDF, 43 pp., 456 KB) from Agriculture Workshop (14-15 May 2007)
- Subcommittee Minutes (PDF, 17 pp., 130 KB) from Agriculture Subcommittee Meeting (16 May 2007)
- Action Plan: Agriculture Subcommittee (PDF, 13 pp., 82 KB) (December 2006)
- Subcommittee Minutes (PDF, 18 pp., 111 KB) from Agriculture Subcommittee Meeting (1 December 2006)
- Workshop Report (PDF, 59 pp., 566 KB) from Agriculture Workshop (29-30 November 2006)
- Minutes (PDF, 13 pp., 181 KB) from Agriculture Task Force Meeting (November 2005)
- Minutes (PDF, 9 pp., 171 KB) from Agriculture Task Force Meeting Conference Call (15 September 2005)
- Minutes (PDF, 11 pp., 84 KB) from Agriculture Task Force Meeting Conference Call (22 June 2005)
Country Profiles and Strategic Plans
Country representatives may fill-out and submit the agriculture country profile and strategic plan template (DOC, 2 pp., 44 KB) to the Administrative Support Group for inclusion on this page.
- Argentina (PDF, 30 pp., 643 KB)
- Australia (PDF, 11 pp., 61 KB)
- Brazil (PDF, 16 pp., 188 KB)
- Canada (PDF, 13 pp., 350 KB)
- China (PDF, 6 pp., 161 KB)
- India (PDF, 15 pp., 181 KB)
- Italy (PDF, 8 pp., 131 KB)
- Japan (PDF, 3 pp., 93 KB)
- Mexico (PDF, 41 pp., 576 KB)
- Poland (PDF, 15 pp., 120 KB)
- United Kingdom (PDF, 49 pp., 588 KB)
- United States (PDF, 22 pp., 923 KB)
Useful Links
- U.K. Defra Workshop on Increasing the Uptake of Anaerobic Digestion (Exeter University, 3-4 September 2007)
- EPA and ASERTTI's Anaerobic Digester Systems Protocol
- AgSTAR Program Jointly sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
- Food and Agricultural Organization / Livestock, Environment and Development Initiative (FAO/LEAD): Two relevant program areas with ongoing projects:
(1) Protecting the environment from the impact of the growing industrialization of livestock production in East Asia (South China Sea)
(2) Land,
water and air pollution by industrial livestock production.
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Climate Change and Agriculture, Challenge of Climate Change for Agriculture: EU Ministers Meeting.
The agriculture sector is responsible for over 50 percent of human-related methane emissions worldwide and global trends towards more concentrated and commercialized livestock operations will provide increasing opportunities for methane recovery and utilization from livestock waste management.