Farmers are invited to enter a soil carbon programme in readiness for Harvest 2024.
AgreenaCarbon helps farmers to finance their transition to regenerative practices and is now opening its fourth year, with more than 1M hectares being registered with the programme so far.
Agreena’s Niels Vittrup says through regenerative practices such as no-till, min-till, and the growing of cover crops, farmers can play a key role in the delivery of climate mitigation services. “Farmers should be financially rewarded for providing these vital services and AgreenaCarbon does just that,” he says.
Carbon certificates
Farmers in the programme agree to undertake a range of measures such as optimal use of cover crops and reduced soil disturbance. Agreena’s programme quantifies the farm’s greenhouse gas reductions and carbon removals and issues verified CO2e certificates.
Certificates can be kept, traded on the voluntary carbon market (VCM), or sold through Agreena.
UK Market Lead, Thomas Gent, says farmers in the UK are facing unprecedented challenges including economic and political uncertainty, changing weather patterns, and the reduction and eventual disappearance of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
“AgreenaCarbon provides an additional income for farmers, ensuring their businesses are both profitable and environmentally sustainable,” he says.
Farmer testimonial
The company’s ‘credible’ approach to carbon farming was a significant factor in encouraging Nottinghamshire farmer, John Miller, to join the programme.
“One of the main reasons I joined in 2021 was it was the only company that I thought was credible and whose carbon certificates would actually provide me with an additional revenue at the end of harvest,” he says. “This is key as the voluntary carbon market continues to grow and evolve.”
