In this week’s episode of the Farmer’s Inside Track weekend edition, Gray Maguire from Carbon Neutral Group South Africa, tells Mzansi farmers how to apply for their carbon credits programme, and why they are crucial for the future of sustainable agriculture. The Carbon Neutral Group is the first of its kind to start a carbon credits programme in South Africa in 2021.
Carbon credits are a permit that allows a country or organisation to produce certain amounts of carbon emissions which can be traded off if the full allowance isn’t used.
“There’s a really big uptick in the level of interest, especially since we have gone through this audit cycle. And we’re now in a position where we can pretty confidently say that we were able to reflect some very real value to our farmers. And they’re excited to receive their first payouts, which we are expected to make in October and November this year.”
What are the benefits?
According to Maguire, economic gains are one of the advantages of carbon credit programmes, and the podcast explains what this means for farmers.
Maguire says that now is the only time that anyone will be allowed to handle five years’ worth of backdated data as a result of a regulatory change.
“So, there is a unique opportunity there. As the saying goes, you can’t manage something if you don’t measure it. And this is one of the things that can facilitate that process.
“And then obviously, the other big component is around improving the amount of climate resilience that accrues to farmers; reducing the requirements for irrigation; reducing inputs, improving the quality of the crop outputs; and improving yields.
“These are real impacts that we see from farmers that have taken a regenerative route,” Maguire says. .
Farmers who are interested in exploring a carbon credits programme should take a few things into consideration.
“There’s been quite a lot of interest from people that don’t have a background in either agriculture, or in carbon, that all of a sudden say [they can do this and that].’ It is not a simple process. It is very complex,” he warns.
On this episode Maguire also explains the following:
- Mzansi export and EU regulations;
- Advice to farmers about looking into a carbon neutral route; and
- Opportunities in the programme for carbon credits.
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
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Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
ALSO READ: Carbon credits: How farmers can reap the rewards
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