Potential of Carbon Credits and Solutions Through Carbon Farming to Achieve Carbon-Negative Agriculture
摘要
Rapid climate change has left the world struggling with its impact on human and natural systems. Agriculture is one such bridging sector serving as both the cause and victim of climate extremes if not managed well. Contrarily, agricultural land carries enough potential to sequester carbon due to its sheer size. Hence, it is crucial to switch conventional/traditional agricultural practices to sustainable regenerative practices that not only sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) but also improve the overall soil and crop health for long-term viability and profitability. Currently, most farmers raising crops and managing agricultural lands in developing and least developed countries are small-scale and belong to marginalized sections in financial terms. One of the most credible solutions to support agriculture and/or green technology projects is through carbon finance in the form of carbon credits led by carbon platforms like the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). Recently, there has been an upsurge of carbon farming projects willing to change to regenerative practices such as no tillage, cover cropping, and low chemical utilization to be able to register and seek financial support through carbon credits. Currently, there are 23 projects sequestering carbon and 14 projects reducing emissions in agriculture, already issuing 13.35 million and 4.65 million carbon credits, respectively. However, VCM is an evolving carbon market that presents its unique challenges, particularly in relation to agricultural project types, including additionality, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) costs, permanence, and social acceptance, among others. Nonetheless, it still stands as one of the great platforms to serve financial incentives to farmers for implementing sustainable practices. Monetization of carbon credits motivates farmers to switch to non-conventional practices and equips them with the tools to implement such practices for the long run until they observe the improved soil health and crop yields themselves.