First carbon payments made to arable farmers

• Greenhouse gas emissions cut

• Carbon sequestered in the soil

• Payments to UK farmers soon

Almost £1m has been paid out under a scheme to reward farmers who reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in their soil.

The money was paid out by Soil Capital under the company’s Soil Capital Carbon initiative, which rewards the transition to regenerative agriculture. Some 100 farmers in France and Belgium received payments from their generation of carbon certificates.

Independently audited payments to British farmers will follow. The Soil Capital Carbon programme was introduced to the UK last year, with 50 farmers so far completing their first carbon assessments across their whole farm system.

Positive impact

This is a concrete recognition of the positive impact of practices they have implemented, whether reducing tillage intensity, increasing use of organic fertilisers, planting cover crops, diversifying their rotation, or even adopting agroforestry.

Soil Capital co-founder and chief agronomist Nicolas Verschuere said: “These payments are the first new revenues we have generated for farmers in Western Europe from reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture. Until now, all this has been a bit abstract.

With each farm receiving an average of €10,000, Mr Verschuere said the carbon payments were higher than Soil Capital’s initial commitment to farmers – thanks to better sales prices secured with buyers.

This meant the minimum guaranteed price of €27.50/t of carbon dioxide equivalent (£23 in the UK) was increased to raised to €32.

Corporate buyers

Soil Capital’s programme generates carbon certificates against an ISO standard. Its goal is to support and remunerate farmers for the implementation of practices that regenerate the natural capital of their soil.

Carbon certificates are primarily bought within the supply chain by food and agri-businesses like Cargill, AB InBev and Royal Canin – which is part of the Mars Group – to evidence their commitment to reducing supply chain emissions.

Soil Capital says the first payments confirm the robustness and credibility of its programme with farmers and food companies. 

It says farmers value the fertility and resilience benefits of improving soil health by locking up more carbon in their soils.

Company co-founder Chuck de Liederkerke said: “The carbon payments we unlock offer a meaningful incentive to farmers to undertake the difficult work of changing practices or, in some cases, maintaining those with a net positive impact.”