What is Carbon Farming?

About Carbon Farming:

• It is a whole farm approach to optimizing carbon capture on working landscapes by implementing practices that are known to improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and stored in plant material and/or soil organic matter.
• Its effectiveness varies depending on multiple factors — geographical location, soil type, crop selection, water availability, biodiversity and farm size and scale. Its usefulness also depends on land management practices, sufficient policy support and community engagement.

How can carbon farming help?

• A simple implementation of carbon farming is rotational grazing. Others include agroforestry, conservation agriculture, integrated nutrient management, agro-ecology, livestock management and land restoration.
• Agroforestry practices: It includes silvopasture and alley cropping which can further diversify farm income by sequestering carbon in trees and shrubs.
• Conservation agriculture techniques: It includes zero tillage, crop rotation, cover cropping and crop residue management (stubble retention and composting) can help minimise soil disturbance and enhance organic content, particularly in places with other intense agricultural activities.
• Integrated nutrient management practices promote soil fertility and reduce emissions by using organic fertilizers and compost.
• Agro-ecological approaches such as crop diversification and intercropping have benefits for ecosystem resilience.
• Livestock management strategies including rotational grazing, optimising feed quality, and managing animal waste can reduce methane emissions and increase the amount of carbon stored away in pasture lands.

Carbon Farming Schemes Worldwide

• ‘4 per 1000’ initiative: It was launched during the COP21 climate talks in 2015 in Paris highlights the particular role of sinks in mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions.
• Agricultural Carbon Project: It is Kenya’s initiative which is supported by the World Bank and highlights the potential for carbon farming.