By Johannes Birkebaek
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish agriculture tech company Agreena has seen a fourfold jump over the last year in the number of farmers enrolling in its programme to earn certificates by implementing regenerative farming practices, the company said on Tuesday.
With agriculture accounting for nearly one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions, decarbonisation efforts have become an important part of the industry.
Current members of Agreena have contributed 20% of the company’s overall portfolio growth, currently at 600,000 hectares (1.48 million acres), by enrolling more farmland into its soil carbon platform, Agreena said, suggesting that farmers also see the benefits of the business.
Agreena provides farmers with the opportunity to turn their reduced emissions into carbon certificates, which other companies can buy to offset their own emissions.
This helps provide farmers with additional revenue to fund the high upfront costs, which turn many farmers away from transitioning into regenerative practices that help lower carbon emissions.
“They (farmers) need a reliable and liquid payment to help cover their transition efforts,” said Agreena CEO Simon Haldrup.
“Still, carbon certificates are just one part of the solution and a mix of incentives is needed to rapidly transition the world’s farmers to regenerative practices,” he added.
The Danish company helps farmers sell the carbon certificates and offers farmers an “early payout” option as the process of selling carbon credits can take a year or longer.
(Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek, editing by Jonathan Oatis)
