Regenerative agriculture

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. Traditional seed preservation systems are characterised by interconnected, multi-directional networks through which seeds and knowledge pass between generations and communities — contrasting sharply with modern, linear, one-way seed distribution chains. This is both a central feature of community-based agrobiodiversity conservation and widely documented in the literature. Statement 2 is correct. The ITPGRFA (the International Seed Treaty, 2001, in force 2004) explicitly recognises Farmers' Rights in Article 9, which includes the right of farmers to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed and planting material, and requires Contracting Parties to protect and promote these rights within their national law. This is one of the cornerstones of global agrobiodiversity governance. Statement 3 is false. Genetic erosion is caused by the opposite dynamic: the widespread adoption of high-yielding hybrid and improved varieties displaces locally adapted landraces and traditional varieties, narrowing the genetic base of crops. Open-pollinated landraces are repositories of genetic diversity, not agents of its erosion. The statement inverts the causal relationship — a common misconception.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. In soil science, organic carbon is a key driver of overall soil health — it supports microbial activity, moisture retention, and nutrient cycling. When soil organic carbon declines, micronutrient availability also falls, which silently erodes both yield and the nutritional quality of food produced. This is a well-established principle in agro-ecology. Statement 2 is incorrect. Eutrophication is the process by which excess nutrients — principally nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertiliser and pesticide runoff — enter water bodies, triggering algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and fish kills. It is not primarily caused by industrial effluents, and agricultural nutrient runoff is in fact a leading cause of eutrophication in freshwater bodies such as village ponds, tanks, lakes and reservoirs. The statement inverts the actual causal mechanism and severs the well-documented agriculture–eutrophication link. Statement 3 is correct. Treated wastewater, when properly managed, is recognised as a valuable supplementary water resource that reduces dependence on groundwater. However, if managed poorly — without adequate treatment or monitoring — it can reintroduce salts, excess nutrients and other contaminants back into agricultural soils and the broader food chain. Water quality, not just water quantity, is therefore a core consideration in sustainable irrigation planning.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. Traditional flooded paddy cultivation creates waterlogged, anaerobic conditions in the soil. In the absence of oxygen, methanogenic archaea decompose organic matter and release methane — this is the fundamental biogeochemical mechanism by which flooded rice fields become a methane source. Statement 2 is correct. Methane has a global warming potential (GWP) approximately 27–28 times that of CO₂ over a 100-year period (the standard IPCC metric). Because of this high GWP, rice cultivation's roughly 10 per cent contribution to global methane emissions carries a climate impact far larger than its modest percentage share of total greenhouse gas emissions (around 1.5%) would suggest — a key point in understanding why paddy cultivation is considered 'climate-intensive.' Statement 3 is incorrect. AWD reduces methane emissions by periodically allowing the paddy field to dry out between irrigation cycles, thereby restoring aerobic conditions in the soil. Aerobic soils are inhospitable to methane-producing (methanogenic) bacteria. AWD's mechanism is hydrological — managing water input — not fertiliser-based. Increasing synthetic nitrogenous fertiliser use is associated with nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, a different greenhouse gas concern, and is not the mechanism by which AWD cuts methane.

Explanation

Statement 1 is incorrect. India's Soil Health Card framework focuses on chemical parameters — nitrogen (N), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), organic carbon, and micro-nutrients like zinc, magnesium, and copper — and does NOT currently assess biological soil health through measurement of living micro-organisms. The absence of biological health monitoring is precisely the gap that soil scientists are calling attention to. Statement 2 is correct. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a composite measure that includes both active carbon (associated with living biological processes) and inert or dead carbon. Because biological soil health depends specifically on the living, active fraction of carbon, SOC is only an approximate (proxy) indicator — not a direct measure — of a soil's biological vitality. This distinction between active and inert carbon is a recognised limitation in soil science. Statement 3 is correct. Soil microbiota — a continuum from micro-organisms like bacteria, fungi, and algae, to micro-fauna like protozoa, to macro-fauna like earthworms and beetles — enhance the soil's ability to absorb and cycle nutrients, thereby improving crop yield. This is functionally parallel to the way gut microbiota in humans facilitate digestion and nutrient assimilation. The analogy between soil microbiome and gut microbiome is a well-established concept in regenerative agriculture and ecological soil science.

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct. Flooded paddy fields create waterlogged, anaerobic (oxygen-poor) soil conditions that allow methane-producing microbes (methanogens) to thrive — this is the core process of anaerobic methanogenesis responsible for the bulk of rice-cultivation methane emissions. Statement 2 is incorrect. AWD is precisely the opposite of continuous flooding — it involves periodically draining and then reflooding fields at set intervals throughout the growing season. This intermittent drainage disrupts anaerobic soil conditions and thereby inhibits methanogenic activity, reducing methane output. Keeping fields continuously flooded is the conventional practice that AWD seeks to replace, not what AWD prescribes. Statement 3 is correct. AWD is recognised as a climate-smart agricultural practice because it delivers meaningful methane reductions (and water savings) without penalising farmers through lower rice yields, making adoption agronomically and economically viable.