Agreena and Fram Farmers partner on soil carbon market to connect farmers to the green economy
In the global move toward not only reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but actually sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, farmers are taking a centre stage position to tackle the climate crisis.
Through the adoption of conservation agriculture practices, farmers can regenerate soils and turn them into carbon sinks in the process.
At Groundswell, Europe’s largest regenerative agriculture conference, Fram Farmers and soil carbon certification company Agreena announced a newly established partnership to ramp up soil carbon sequestration in the UK and reward farmers for making the transition.
Fram Farmers supports more than 1,400 farm businesses across the UK with a variety of membership services. The organisations will work together to educate the farmer network about soil carbon certification and provide access to the green economy through the voluntary carbon market.
“We’re working together to make an impact in agriculture – while supporting an additional new revenue stream for Fram Farmers’ members,” says Ida Boesen, co-founder of Agreena. “The partnership comes in a timely manner as farmers have until the 30 June to register for participation in the 2022 AgreenaCarbon harvest to receive rewards for this year.”
Agreena’s technology platform supports farmers to input data around individual fields and receive GHG emission baselines. If a farmer decides, they can create a plan for their farm’s transition to regenerative practices and receive estimated potential earnings for each planned harvest year. Agreena monitors and verifies fields before issuing third-party verified carbon certificates which can be held for the farm or sold as offsets to climate-conscious companies.
“The AgreenaCarbon programme is designed to help farmers overcome the knowledge and financial barriers around their ability to capture carbon via regenerative farming and soil sequestration,” says Andrew Knowles, CEO of Fram Farmers. “We chose to partner with Agreena as the company has created a model that puts farmers first. Farmers have complete control of their carbon certificates, and through the connection to the voluntary carbon market, can be confident that they will maximise the value of their efforts.”
Agreena and Fram Farmers say they will further reduce the complexity surrounding carbon markets by running a series of educational events. The partners say they will help farmers improve the all-important bottom line in the short-term, but also spur long-term benefits resulting from regenerative farming practices.
“In the immediate term, there is potential for cost reductions in fertiliser and crop protection and lower fuel and labour costs, all helping to drive up profitability,” continued Boesen. “However, the benefits to the environment cannot be overestimated: improved soil quality driving up resiliency, higher water retention capacity, higher nutrient content and enhanced biodiversity.”
For more information visit: agreena.com/framfarmers