International Journal of Chemistry Studies 35 International Journal of Chemistry Studies ISSN: 2581-348X; Impact Factor: RJIF 5.44 Received: 18-01-2019; Accepted: 22-02-2019 www.chemistryjournal.in Volume 3; Issue 2; March 2019; Page No. 35-42 An inclusive assessment on correlation among agriculture and climate change Ghulam Murtaza 1 , Sabiha Javed 2 , Yingchao Dong 3 , Muhammad Usman 4 1-3 Department of Environmental Sciences, the University of Lahore, Pakistan 3 Professor School of Environmental Science & Technology, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), P.R, China 4 University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan Abstract This paper reviews various articles and documents on relationship between climate change and agriculture. The two-way relationship of climate change and agriculture is of great significance in particular to developing countries due to their large dependence on agricultural practice for livelihoods and their lack of infrastructure for adaptation when compared to developed countries. Agricultural activities are affected by climate change affects due to their direct dependence on climatic factors. In high latitude areas with low temperature, increased temperature due to climate change could allow for longer growing season. Agriculture affects climate through emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These emissions come directly from use of fossil fuels, tillage practices, fertilized agricultural soils and livestock manure in large proportion. Conversely, agriculture could be a solution for climate change by the widespread adoption of mitigation and adaptation actions. This happens with the help of best management practices such as organic farming, agro forestry practice and manure management etc. Keywords: adaptation, agriculture, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, mitigation Introduction Globally, climate change (CC) is the most serious environmental threat that adversely affects agricultural productivity [1] . According to inter-governmental panel on climate change [2] (IPCC) report, climate change refers to any change in climate over time, due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. This climate change mainly caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) accumulation in the atmosphere, which results in increased greenhouse effect. Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes, both of which take place on a global scale and their relationship is of particular importance as the imbalance between world population and world food production increases. Based on some projections, changes in temperature, rainfall and severe weather events are expected to reduce crop yield in many regions of the developing world, particularly sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia [3] . The impact and consequences of climate change for agriculture tend to be more severe for countries with higher initial temperatures, areas with marginal or already degraded lands and lower levels of development with little adaptation capacity [4] . On the other hand, various studies indicate that current agricultural activities are a significant source of GHGs that aggravate climate disruption [5] . The practice of agriculture is very different between developing and developed counties, which results in variation of agricultural contribution to climate change. In developing countries, GHG emission from agriculture sector is much more because of large number of cattle and inadequate manure management, improper use of agro-chemicals and mismanagement of the land. In turn, CC impact becomes more serious in developing countries due to their dependence is on agriculture. In Ethiopia, agriculture supports the livelihoods of the majority of people by providing 80% of employment and it contributes 43% of the (gross domestic product) GDP [6] . This could be a typical example of the impact of climate change on the vulnerable rural communities in the developing world. On the other side, agricultural sector has large potential to mitigate and adapt climate change. According to IPCC [2] , mitigation is an intervention to reduce the emissions sources or enhance the GHG sinks, whereas adaptation is the adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic change or their effects, to reduce harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. Sustainable and organic agricultural systems can help reduce agricultural GHG emissions through energy conservation, lower levels of carbon-based inputs, lower use of synthetic fertilizer and other features that minimize GHG emissions and sequester carbon in the soil. During mitigation and adaptation of climate change through different agricultural activities, there might be many challenges or barriers such as financial, policy and implementation barrier etc. In general, Agricultural activity could be a source of GHGs as well as a sink, notably through the storage of carbon in the soil organic matter and in biomass and influenced by CC [7] . Agriculture and climate change Agriculture is an economic activity that is highly dependent upon weather and climate in order to produce the food and fiber necessary to sustain human life. Not surprisingly, agriculture is deemed to be an economic activity that is expected to be vulnerable to climate variability and change. It involves natural processes that frequently require fixed proportions of nutrients, temperatures, precipitation, and other conditions [8] . Agriculture represents less than 2 percent of GDP in high-income countries, and 2.9 percent for the world as a whole. It is more important for low- income countries, contributing large GDP [9] . This is