News carbon farming
First credits sold by Rabo Carbon Bank
Rabo Carbon Bank has sold the first credits from Dutch and American soil. 90% of the proceeds from the credits go to participating farmers. The buyers are Hoogwegt, Interpolis, Vattenfall, Greenchoice and Interfood.
This sale of carbon credits is part of a Rabobank pilot, in which the bank aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by Dutch and American farmers. In June, participating dairy farmers and arable farmers received an advance to increase sustainability. Measures taken by the farmers include: plowing less deeply, using less fertilizer or sowing grassland rich in herbs.
"When tackling climate change, farmers are too often seen as part of the problem, while they are also part of the solution," said Barbara Baarsma, CEO of Rabo Carbon Bank in the message. "The proceeds of the credits can be used by farmers to invest in the transition to sustainable agriculture."
'This is the future for farming'
Making the agricultural sector more sustainable is not just up to the farmer, according to Baarsma. "Not only Rabobank thinks so, but also the customers who have bought carbon credits and in this way make sustainability profitable for participating farmers." By the way, companies are not just eligible for the credits. For example, they all commit to CO2 reduction in their own company and the supply chain.
"This is the future of farming: regenerative farming improves the biodiversity and nutritional value of the products, but also rewards farmers for their ecosystem services," says Baarsma. "In order to make the transition to sustainable agriculture we all want, the price of a credit still has to go up and the workload, such as collecting data, has to go down. We are now working on that." The pilot is now entering its second year of a total duration of three years.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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