22 July 2022, Cape Town
AgriCarbon™, Climate Neutral Group’s regenerative agriculture rewards programme, opens 2022 submissions annual intake
South African farmers practising regenerative agriculture can earn extra income through the country’s leading carbon offset programme for the agricultural sector. AgriCarbon is the first internationally recognised agriculture carbon offset programme and the first in the world to undertake the third-party audit cycle through an approved Validation Verification Body (VVB) under the Verra Carbon Standard’s VM0042 methodology. Farmers implementing regenerative agricultural practices are invited to sign up to the programme before the 30th of September 2022 to maximise their carbon credit income for accumulating carbon in their soil over the past 5 years and receive payments annually thereafter.
The shift towards regenerative agriculture across South Africa has received much needed support over the past year as carbon management company Climate Neutral Group’s AgriCarbon programme completed a successful 2021 enrolment cycle. The programme enrolled 65 farms totalling 43, 415 hectares, followed by an initial submission of 19, 896 hectares with the remainder underway for submission. Having successfully conducted the third-party audit cycle with top-rated auditor, SCS Global, under the “Verra Carbon Standard’s VM0042 methodology” – the programme is leading the way to the world’s first issuance.
Recent years have seen South African producers farming more than just livestock and crops. Carbon farming, through regenerative farming practices, creates sustainable and profitable farms and has gained significant attention.
For many farmers, transitioning to regenerative agriculture has been driven by increasing input costs, declining soil quality and in response to battling drought conditions. Now finally, there is also a direct financial benefit available to regenerative farmers in the form of carbon credit revenue, a rapidly growing global market estimated to be worth $50 billion by 2030.
AgriCarbon, run by Climate Neutral Group (CNG), works by partnering with farmers and pays them for carbon credits generated from their sustainable land management practices. This provides farmers with an additional source of income by helping them certify and sell highly sought-after premium agricultural carbon credits. The programme determines the amount of carbon credits generated on the farm via the soil data received, which is then submitted to the carbon auditor and finally the Verra Carbon Standard.
Franz Rentel, Country Director of CNG South Africa says “Driving the sustainability of the SA agri-sector is at the heart of everything we do. It is in everyone’s best interest for us to do our best for farmers – our farmer partners, the environment, our corporate partners and our collective journey towards net zero by 2050.”
Including multiple farms under the AgriCarbon programme substantially reduces carbon development and auditing costs per farm, thereby maximising income to the farmers. By joining AgriCarbon farmers avoid the complexity and high-cost barriers of certifying carbon credits themselves, so they can focus on the health of their soil and business.
The 2022 verification cycle will include additional farming sectors over and above Dairy; such as Cattle (beef and dairy), Sheep, Maize, Wheat, Soybeans, Sunflower, Oats, Sorghum, Dry bean, Groundnut, Sugarcane, Banana, Citrus and Apples; it will also benefit from the refined model and success of the first carbon audit cycle, resulting in a faster process.
“As the first in the world to go through the third-party audit cycle, we have developed clear insights into the requirements for carbon issuance under this complex methodology. We are now ready to scale this programme for the broader market.” says Gray Maguire, AgriCarbon Programme Lead.
Farmers have until 30th September 2022 to apply. Full details available at www.agricarbon.co.za.
For media enquiries and interview requests with either Franz Rentel, or Gray Maguire please contact Liezl.Julius@climateneutralgroup.com.
About Climate Neutral Group – part of Anthesis
Climate Neutral Group (CNG) is a leading international carbon consultancy and offset provider which recently merged with the Anthesis Group: the largest team of globally dedicated sustainability experts, operating in 40 countries. CNG is dedicated to combating climate change and supports companies on their journey to net zero emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement. Our team of experts passionately support over 3.000 companies globally in making real climate impact and, as a result, have mitigated over 12 million tonnes of CO₂ and improved the quality of life for thousands of people around the world. CNG is a founding partner and member of The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) since 2008, B-Corp Certified since 2015 and an ISEAL subscriber since 2019. Together we are a group of highly motivated, inspirational, and enthusiastic professionals dedicated to tackling climate change and offering sustainable solutions.
