Fram Farmers and Agreena partner over the green economy
Purchasing and crop marketing co-operative Fram Farmers and soil carbon certification company Agreena have formed a partnership to boost soil carbon sequestration in the UK and reward farmers for making the transition.
The partners say farmers can take a major role in moves to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere through conservation agriculture practices that regenerate soils and turn them into carbon sinks.
Fram Farmers will work with Agreena to educate its 1,400-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 Agreena platform helps farmers input data around individual fields and receive GHG emission baselines. They can create plans for a farm’s transition to regenerative practices and receive estimated potential earnings for each 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 Fram Farmers chief executive Andrew Knowles. “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.”
Ms Boesen adds: “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. 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.”