The opportunity
Agricultural emissions account for one third of anthropogenic emissions, with croplands contributing roughly half to total agricultural emissions.
This work will leverage advances in biotechnology that create crops with greater productivity arising from more efficient nutrient use, mediated through more effective association with symbiotic fungi in the soils, which effectively pump carbon below ground. By optimizing crop varieties to acquire nutrients while sequestering carbon, advances could create a promising pipeline to increase food production while mitigating climate change.