India’s “Brown Revolution 2.0” is a timely blueprint to turn one of agriculture’s biggest liabilities—surplus crop residues—into a soil-restoring, job-creating, climate-positive asset through decentralized, cooperative systems inspired by Amul’s dairy model. Studies estimate India generates over 140–150 million tonnes of crop residues annually, much of which is still burned due to limited alternatives, damaging air quality and depleting soils. Soil organic carbon (SOC)—the foundation of soil fertility—has fallen to about 0.3–0.4% in many regions, far below the desirable 1–1.5%, undermining productivity and resilience. Brown Revolution 2.0 proposes community-scale composting, vermicomposting, and biochar production, supported by ICAR institutions and enabled by AI/IoT for quality assurance and traceability, to rebuild SOC, boost yields, cut pollution, and unlock carbon markets. sciencedirect
