**1. Introduction**

IPCC Climate Change Report 2021 [1] reveals that the rising levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) in atmosphere, which are behind the climate change, are due to rising anthropogenic emissions. This is not a new revelation as similar inferences were recorded earlier also. The fact that burning of fossil fuel is the highest GHG emitter among all human activities is recorded in IPCC Report-2014 [2]. Thus, reducing fossil fuel burning reduces GHG emissions including carbon dioxide, the biggest constituent of GHG. But no significant reduction in fossil fuel burning could be achieved because fossil fuels are burnt to meet energy needs of the modern economy. However, it is imperative to reduce the emissions as well as to remove carbon dioxide from atmosphere to combat climate change. Agriculture can help the world in this regard. Agriculture, the occupation of growing plants, uses photosynthesis

every day. The photosynthesis is a natural process as part of global carbon cycle that moves carbon from one pool to another pool while maintaining balance as necessary to sustain life. As photosynthetic absorption of carbon dioxide is more than respiratory discharge, plants thrive with growth of biomass that contains more than 50% carbon. Thus, agriculture/farming growing plants is a negative emission activity.

As farming activities are intertwined with natural processes, the same cannot be carried out in an industrial commodity production system. The status of agriculture as a negative emission activity may change if farming activities act against natural processes. Farmers are at liberty to align their activities with the natural processes or to ignore existence of the ecosystem with its natural processes. Since the farming activities aligned with natural processes need less effort from farmer and cause least harm to environment, they are considered as good farming practices while the opposite ones are bad practices. As a detailed discussion on the ecosystem and natural processes is covered in the next section, it is not elaborated here. Wisdom lies in aligning farming practices with the natural processes as it minimizes the farming effort and adverse impact on the environment while maximizing plant growth and yield.

IPCC Report on agricultural, forests, and other land uses (AFOLU) [3] recorded in 2014 that the agriculture's contribution to GHG emissions is only non-CO2 because of photosynthetic absorption of carbon dioxide while FOLU's contribution includes almost all GHGs. With soil carbon sequestration as the main theme of this paper, discussion on the non-CO2 emissions is beyond our scope. Also, since "FOLU" is not agriculture, emissions from "FOLU" are beyond the scope of this chapter. So, restricting our focus on agriculture alone, it is beyond dispute that agriculture with good farming practices is a negative emission sector that can give emission credits to needy sectors to offset their emissions.

Coming back to the process of growth of plants, photosynthesis turns carbon dioxide into food (simple sugar) called photosynthate which diffuses to all part of the plant. The photosynthate, when it reaches the roots is repeatedly processed by soil microbes that turn it into humus, highly stable carbon compound. This is called "soil carbon sequestration (SCS)" which is permanent transfer of carbon from atmosphere to soil for storage for long periods as part of a natural process. In fact, the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to the plant by photosynthesis is first but temporary sequestration since biomass or timber or wood, or other produce of the plant is subsequently used which releases carbon dioxide to atmosphere. However, as the word "sequestration" signifies carbon transfer/storage on long term basis, temporary transfer from atmosphere to plant biomass is not called sequestration.

Here it may not be out of place to record appreciation of the tiny creatures living in the soil who carry out the miraculous feat of SCS as well as looking after wellbeing of the plant life. Being invisible and inaudible, they do not draw our attention, but the good farming practices help them to be at their best. When they perform well, soil health, farm productivity and SCS are optimum. So, it makes sense to leverage them through adoption of good farming practices.

This chapter aims to empower farmers with fundamentals of ecosystem, natural processes, and good farming practices while nudging global community to support eco-farming as a climate solution. As switching over from current toxic farming to good farming practices aligned involves extra effort, investment, and loss of farmer's income during transition period, there is a case to compensate them for rendering ecosystem services through good farming practices. But no financial support after three years of transition period is warranted since enhanced productivity is rewarding enough for farmers. However, concessional extension services for training them to update their knowledge/skills should be organized by the state on pattern of continuous professional development (CPD). It is expected that the

global community would recognize the potential of good framing practices as a solution for climate change. This is the perspective that drives both farmers and the global community.
