Carbon certification programme gives UK farmers confidence

Farmers who are on the fence about carbon farming now have the control and support they need to confidently enter into a programme.

After centuries of intensive cultivation, farmland soils are depleted.

While conventional farming depletes soil and releases carbon into the atmosphere, regenerative agriculture practices allow for farmers to turn soil into carbon sinks and regenerate the soil in the process.

Now, farmers are able to support their transition – and be incentivised through carbon farming.

With the current value of certificates estimated to sell between £15-£30 each, and up to 2 certificates being earned per hectare, carbon certificates are serving as a new profitability boost for farmers.

Agreena, the company that developed one of Europe’s first internationally accredited soil carbon certification programmes, is now working with farmers in eight countries across the pan-European market.

Receiving high participation from UK farmers in particular, the Danish company recently expanded its local operations.

While Agreena has built a scalable approach, the company attributes its farmers-first ethos as the driver of the increased number of UK farmers jumping into what’s being referred to as the regenerative revolution.

Putting the farmer first

Deeply rooted to the agriculture industry, Agreena worked with farmers and expert agronomists to develop its AgreenaCarbon programme.

The programme is breaking down barriers for farmers so they can operate sustainably and maximise their thin margins. The company says that putting the farmer first in design has been crucial to successful adoption.

“The Agreena system has been very intuitive and easy to use. They were able to answer my many questions, and put my mind at ease regarding overly restrictive or punitive measures,” says UK farmer Tom Martin.

“I like the flexibility to sell my own certificates or take advantage of their network to sell my carbon for me, and the system doesn’t limit or prevent future carbon sales”

© Agreena

Tailored to farmer needs

Each farmer has unique business priorities and needs. Agreena designed a programme that would best accommodate the individual needs of farmers by taking into account that farmers may only want to enter certain fields into AgreenaCarbon.

Agreena makes its programme available to participate on a field-by-field basis versus an entire farm level.

Agreena’s co-founder and CEO, Simon Haldrup, emphasises that farmers are entrepreneurial and independent by nature – and that it is critical to have the freedom to scale up regeneratively.

“We are here to enable the farmer’s transition by providing the platform, tools, and resources that support bringing their farms into the green economy.”

To support each individual farmer, Agreena has expert advisors and agronomists on staff to work collaboratively in creating tailored strategies that will actually work on their fields for the given harvest year.

Unlike other programmes, farmers who meet the minimum requirements of the AgreenaCarbon programme can also decide which practices they adopt.

Giving farmers control

Agreena believes that for a practical and sustainable transition, the farmer should be in control of the carbon certificates generated through their efforts.

For each annual carbon harvest cycle, the company issues third-party verified carbon certificates to farmers that can either be used for offsets or be sold onto the voluntary carbon market.

While the company says that the majority of farmers choose for Agreena to sell the certificates on their behalf – it leaves the choice with the farmers.

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