University of Tasmania PhD student Ganesh Bhattarai on the future of agriculture

Agriculture is dependent on weather and climatic conditions, but it is also a major source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

For University of Tasmania PhD student Ganesh Bhattarai, the future of agriculture will influence and be influenced by climate change.

Mr Bhattarai said he developed a love of agriculture growing up in Nepal, where his grandparents worked as farmers.

"Everyone needs to eat, so agriculture is extremely important," he said.

"And learning about it when I was younger definitely showed me this and helped develop my passion for the sector.

"In fact, my father, who is a civil engineer, says he wanted to study agriculture, so it was very important and valued in our family."

Mr Bhattarai said the connection between agriculture and climate change was made evident during his studies.

"When I started my Bachelor's in 2003, climate change wasn't talked about like it is today," he said.

"We were hearing a little bit about it, but our curriculum was not really addressing that. We did study about producing horticultural crops in adverse climates, but at that time, climate change was not discussed so prominently.

"However, when I started working at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in the Pacific Islands, where I was a climate change and food security officer, I was really exposed to the visible impact of climate change - there was no denying it there."

With his extensive academic and career experience in the impacts of adverse climate on food security, Mr Bhattarai said it made sense to research carbon accounting.

"Everything we grow is impacted by climate," he said.

"So the future of agriculture and combating climate change really goes hand in hand.

"Carbon accounting is a relatively new field, but it's already become an essential tool in the fight against climate change."

Mr Bhattarai said understanding carbon accounting is simple when you liken it to regular accounting.

"As an individual, we all understand using accounting when it comes to our finances," he said.

"If you are spending too much money, you can enter a panic mode where you are trying to recoup your financial losses - it never works. It is always much better to stick to a budget.

"There is a climate crisis looming; we know this. Rather than panicking about it, carbon accounting calculates how to lower a business's carbon footprint by identifying where their emissions come from so they can implement carbon reduction and removal."

Mr Bhattarai's research examines the carbon footprint of agricultural commodities, like macadamia nuts.

"Currently, I am focusing on knowing the carbon footprint of macadamia farms based in Queensland," he said.

"But moving forward, I am thinking of looking into the carbon footprint of the beef industry, as they are a major producer of GHG emissions.

"However, the research can be applicable to broadacre crops, too. There are many possibilities in the agriculture sector."

Even when an organisation has reduced its carbon as much as possible, calculating its carbon footprint will still help it estimate its residual emissions.

The organisation or business can then use climate investment to compensate for its remaining emissions, completing its journey to net zero.

Before embarking on his PhD, Mr Bhattarai worked as a programme officer at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a regional organisation operating in eight Hindukush Himalaya countries.

There, he contributed to the development of climate services for agriculture by conducting remote-sensing-based crop area estimations and fostered valuable partnerships with governmental entities across the region.

Now nearly 10,000 kilometres away, Mr Bhattarai lives at Trevallyn with his wife and two children and said he is enjoying life in Tasmania.

"I was prompted to come to Launceston because of the PhD program offered by the University of Tasmania," he said.

"They are one of the only universities that offer a research program like this in climate change and agriculture.

"But it was a nice surprise to know there is a vibrant Nepalese community here too."

Nepalese is the third most spoken language in the state, and as of 2022, the population of Nepalese natives in Northern Tasmania has surged to about 3500.

"Before coming here, I used to be based in Kathmandu," Mr Bhattarai said.

"Kathmandu is a valley surrounded by mountains, and so waking up at my house at Trevallyn is like being back there; it is very similar.

"Life is very good here."

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