New Alliance to Study Greenhouse Gases in Agriculture

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Experts
say that agriculture provides fourteen percent of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions each year. The gases released include
carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming.

Twenty-one nations around the world recently
joined forces to better understand and prevent greenhouse gas emissions from
farms. The Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases was
launched at the United Nations conference on climate change.

The meeting took place in Copenhagen, Denmark
last month.

Agricultural
experts blame a number of farm activities for producing greenhouse gases. For
example, animal waste and cattle digestive systems release methane gas. Fertilized soil and the burning of crop waste
also release harmful gases into the air.
Experts say some methods of tilling -- turning the soil to prepare for
planting – also release harmful carbon dioxide.

An official of the European Commission's Directorate
General for Research says agricultural greenhouse gas emissions can be cut. Maive Rute suggests feeding animals a diet
designed to reduce emissions.

The
new agricultural research group says protecting against global warming is only
part of its purpose. It says the world also
needs to develop better farming methods to feed growing populations in poor
countries.

United States Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack said no one single nation can fight agricultural greenhouse gas
emissions and increase food production at the same time. This is why the alliance is important for
combining resources and finding new ones.

The
United States Department of Agriculture will increase spending on farm
emissions research by ninety million dollars over the next four years. The
total will reach one hundred thirty million dollars. The
U.S.D.A. will share the research with other countries in the Global Research
Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.

The U.S.D.A. will support researchers from developing
countries that belong to the alliance.
Money from the Borlaug Fellowship program will let the researchers study
agricultural climate change with American scientists.

Mister
Vilsack said that just as climate change has no borders, there should be no
borders for research.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report,
written by Jerilyn Watson. You can
comment on our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

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