Farming for the Future- Monetizing Carbon Credits through Managed Farmlands

Farming for the Future- Monetizing Carbon Credits through Managed Farmlands

Climate changes are evident everyday and nations across the globe are trying to combat these changes through various activities. Whether it comes to using a car or even a mobile phone, everything that you do contributes to carbon emissions. Every country is trying to achieve a state of zero-emission and carbon credits to be offering a hope for the future and promise.

Carbon credits are tradable permits that let businesses offset their unavoidable carbon emissions by making investments in all those projects that either help remove carbon dioxide from the air actively or prevent its entry into the atmosphere. One carbon credit is issued for each tonne of carbon dioxide that is offset. It helps to build a strong system that can finance sustainable initiatives. Today, you can find many organisations, corporations and even governments using carbon credits more and more, to ensure green project investments - including sustainable agriculture and forest conservation activities. In this context, you can find managed farmlands to be an underrated yet robust way of combating climate changes.

Carbon Credits and Climate Profits: A Market on the Rise 

According to the World Bank, by 2030, the global voluntary carbon market is expected to touch $50 billion. Forest cover accounts for as much as 31% of the land area of the planet, and has traditionally dominated the conservation of carbon credits. However, agricultural land constitutes 38% of the land area of the earth and presents an unexplored potential. Agriculture lands can be transformed into carbon sinks, which can rejuvenate ecosystems by trapping carbon from the atmosphere.

A major part of the foundation of the Indian economy is reliant on agriculture, and it is being felt that this can lead to the transformation. At the moment, the Indian Government is trying to support sustainable farming practices for addressing various challenges, such as sustainable natural resource usage and too much dependence on chemical inputs. These initiatives are inline with the climate objectives of the country and also present new revenue stream for farmers who want to welcome the changes.

How Carbon Credits Support Global Climate Commitments?

Carbon credits are vital for achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement, which aims to restrict global warming to less than 2°C and a target of 1.5°Cis being aspired for.

International carbon markets can use Article 6 of the Paris Agreement as a framework. It can serve as a guide for corporations and nations across the world in trading reduction in carbon emissions. Countries and businesses worldwide can offset their carbon footprint and help to achieve global climate objectives more easily with investments in carbon credits. It can be better for the earth as well as the global economy.

Sustainable Farming: A New Era in Agriculture

There are plenty of advantages of sustainable agriculture practices, such as climate-resilient agriculture, agro ecology and regenerative farming. It can be easier to benefit the environment through better biodiversity, easier availability of water resources, better soil microbial health and restoration of the ecosystem.

Economic advantages are another major benefit. It can be easier to reduce the need for expensive chemical inputs, access premium markets for food items produced through sustainable agriculture practices and improve yields.

Losses after harvest can be reduced when soil is healthier, richer with organic carbon, leading to healthier crop yields. Diversification of crop growth, which is a basis for sustainable agriculture, can improve food security as well as reduce the risk of diseases resulting from use of chemicals and pesticides for crop growth.

A 10-year afforestation project in Bagepalli, Karnataka recently showed how transformative the results can be. By adopting climate-resilient methods, sapling survival rates increased by 40%. This project helped to earn 91,092 carbon credits and ensure major profits in 2019 (₹26.18 crore) and 2021 (₹4.4 crore). It helped to rejuvenate degraded lands, gave more support to local families and advanced global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) concentrating on restoring the ecosystem, improving climate action, and ensuring responsible usage of resources.

Improving Environmental Outcomes with the Green Credit Programme

The Green Credit Programme (GCP) of India is a Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment)-aligned initiative that incentivizes green activities like waste management, sustainable agriculture, water management and tree plantation, complementing carbon credits.

Projects that generate green credits can earn carbon credits at the same time, and lead to double streams of revenue. Managed farmlands can derive major advantages from this dual opportunity.

Managed Farmlands: A Sustainable Agricultural Solution

Managed farmlands have tremendous potential in addressing food security challenges and climate change problems. Farmers can adopt sustainable practices to sequester carbon, reducing atmospheric CO2 levels, and boosting organic carbon content in soil. They can also improve productivity by improving biodiversity, enriching soil and ensuring increased, more sustainable crop yields.

They can also access premium markets and reach out to an expanding customer base that is in need of food items produced sustainably. It can also empower communities and ensure social and financial advantages, especially for marginalised communities.

Final Thoughts

The synergy of carbon credits and managed farmlands can contribute to the environment in a big way, generating excellent income opportunities. Farmers need to welcome sustainable farming practices to make big incomes while reducing climate risks as much as possible.