A video playlist titled ‘CS – Drawdown – 3 – Food’ from the ‘Murtugudde Climate Academy’ by Dr. Raghu Murtugudde. It consists of 16 short video lectures that summarise climate solutions for the Food Sector. The solutions are based on the book titled ‘Drawdown’ edited by Paul Hawken.

The video lectures are as follows:

1. Plant Rich Diet (14.54 mins): This video discusses the emissions from food production systems mainly agriculture and livestock rearing. It emphasises the consumption of a plant rich diet over meat and also gives an overview of the ways in which emissions from agriculture and livestock industries can be estimated and reduced.
2. Farmland Restoration (7.18 mins): This video describes the technique of farmland restoration to rectify the practice of abandoning the land once it loses its fertility and productivity. The video also mentions the advantages of practices like regenerative agriculture for farmland restoration such as increased food production, enhanced biodiversity & productivity, carbon sequestration, and conservation of soil & water resources.
3. Reduced Food Waste (7.44 mins): This video discusses the global greenhouse gas emissions due to food production and food wastage. It mentions the share of food loss and waste for each continent and the carbon footprint of agricultural activities, food supply chain processes and various food commodities.
4. Clean Cookstoves (9.54 mins): This video explains the use of clean cookstoves which are specially designed cookstoves with lightweight metal and a metal alloy combustion chamber. It states that this technology maximises lifetime of the stove, quality control, safety, and heat transfer while minimising emissions.
5. Improved Rice Cultivation (12.41 mins): This video describes the technique of ‘Rice Intensification’ which is an approach to sustainable rice production. It also mentions the benefits of the SRI technique such as increased yield, increased income, reduced cost of production, reduced water requirement, and shorter time to maturity amongst others.
6. Multistrata Agroforestry (7.31 mins): This video discusses ‘Multistrata Agroforestry’ which is a technique of intercropping that combines agricultural, pastoral, and forestry elements in one area. It mentions the benefits of this technique such as increased agricultural productivity, reducing hunger and poverty, women empowerment, supporting biodiversity, enriched soils and water availability, pest control, resilience, and microclimate regulation amongst others.
7. Silvopasture (7.13 mins): This video discusses ‘Silvopasture’ which is a technique of intercropping that combines pastoral and forestry elements in one area. It mentions the benefits of silvopasture such as a cooler environment for livestock, wind and weather protection, diverse vegetation, improvement of soil properties, and reduced probability of wildfires amongst others.
8. Regenerative Agriculture (10.47 mins): This video discusses ‘Regenerative Agriculture’ which is a set of farming practices that increase biodiversity and soil organic matter. It mentions the objectives of regenerative agriculture with regards to factors such as soil, human population, financial profits, and the planet as a whole. The video also mentions that this practice can potentially decrease GHG emissions, reverse climate change, improve yields, create drought resistant soils, nurture biodiversity, and revitalise local economies amongst others.
9. Nutrient Management (12.30 mins): This video describes the harmful effects of using excessive fertilisers in agricultural practices, such as the impacts of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus fertilisers on the water bodies and marine ecosystems. It mentions the regions around the world that are showing this phenomena and the challenges in enforcing nutrient management systems.
10. Tree Intercropping (8.35 mins): This video discusses ‘Tree Intercropping’ which is a technique of mixing crop plantations along with indigenous trees. It mentions the advantages of tree intercropping such as enhancing soil moisture resistance, groundwater recharge, carbon sequestration, soil health, and increased crop yields amongst others.
11. Conservation Agriculture (8.30 mins): This video discusses ‘Conservation Agriculture’ which uses only a reasonable amount of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. It mentions the principles for conservation agriculture such as crop diversification and minimal soil movement and its cost benefits
12. Composting (7.29 mins): This video explains the method of composting which is the practice of degrading organic waste to form fertiliser for the soil and crops. The video mentions the benefits of composting such as reducing methane emissions in landfills, less dependence on chemical fertilisers, and higher agricultural yields amongst others.
13. Biochar (6.31 mins): This video discusses the use of biochar which is a form of carbon rich fertiliser made out of biomass from agricultural, urban waste, and feedstock through various industrial processes. The video states that biochar is beneficial in enhancing soil characteristics which can improve farming systems and also aid in climate mitigation.
14. Tropical Staple Trees (9.50 mins): This video discusses the staple trees found in tropical regions that produce certain edible food products that are a part of the daily diet of the population in those areas. It also mentions some benefits of tropical staples such as better carbon sequestration and higher yields.
15. Farmland Irrigation (10.02 mins): This video explains the water demand for agricultural irrigation as well as other sectors. It mentions the quantum of agricultural water use in various countries and the water footprint for the worldwide production of various food products.
16. Managed Grazing (11.20 mins): This video discusses managing the land, soil, and cattle for maximising yields from livestock rearing while maintaining biodiversity and climate consciousness. It also mentions that managed grazing can potentially enhance carbon sequestration, soil health, water retention, and forest productivity.

Students will be introduced to the impacts of human dietary habits, agriculture and livestock rearing on the environment and climate change. They will also learn about various techniques that can be adopted in the food production sector to increase yields and reduce carbon footprint at the same time and the overall impact of smart agricultural and pastoral practices by 2050, net costs, net savings and the amount of CO2 reduced as a result.