Can data and tech drive the future of carbon farming?
08 Jul 24
Ellen Atiyah
Sponsored by
Bayer Crop Science
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Data and technology have a pivotal role in powering carbon farming, resilience and sustainability in agriculture through accurate data, digital solutions and stakeholder collaboration.
On the 20th of June 2024, Innovation Forum held a webinar in partnership with Bayer Crop Science to explore how data collection and analysis can inform decision making at the farm level, grounded in real-life case studies. The conversation emphasised the pivotal role of data and technology in driving resilience and carbon farming at the farm level. The panellists highlighted the necessity of accurate data for reducing emissions and enhancing agricultural practices. The discussion also examined the challenges and future prospects in integrating these methodologies into farming and policy frameworks. Overall, data and technology are crucial in transforming the agriculture sector to be more sustainable and resilient. Collaboration across the agricultural value chain, supported by robust policy frameworks, is essential for achieving meaningful outcomes in carbon farming and supply chain resilience.
Please click here for a full list of questions asked through the Zoom Q&A function.
The need for accuracy: the role of digital solutions in agriculture
The panellists highlighted the importance of scalable solutions and adaptability in tools and systems for the future of data-driven agriculture. They emphasised that the more accurate the data, the stronger the business case and the greater the potential to finance data as an asset.
Accurate data collection and analysis are essential for the success of data-driven agriculture. While the digital revolution in agriculture has seen multiple waves, the speakers stressed the need to consistently demonstrate the value of digital insights to farmers. Flexible and adaptable systems were recognised as necessary to accommodate the diverse environments and challenges faced by farmers across different regions.
Additionally, the speakers underscored the indispensable role of digital technologies in sustainable agriculture initiatives. They particularly highlighted Bayer's collaborative efforts in leveraging digital solutions to enhance the efficacy of projects across European food value chains.
Carbon removal certification and regulation
Valeria Forlin, representing DG Climate of the European Commission, provided insights into the policy frameworks supporting carbon removal certifications. She outlined the EU's ambitious climate targets and discussed the forthcoming regulations aimed at harmonising the rules for quantifying emissions and carbon sequestration on farms.
The panel delved into the EU's initiatives in this area:
Developing standardised methodologies for measuring and verifying carbon removals in the agricultural sector. These methodologies are expected to be published by mid-2025 as part of the EU's efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, with interim targets of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and 99% by 2040.
Establishing clear rules and guidelines for recognising carbon removal certification schemes. This will help ensure consistency and reliability across different certification programs.
Promoting the growth of the market for advisory and data services that can support farmers and agricultural businesses in adopting sustainable practices and participating in carbon removal initiatives.
The overarching goal of these efforts is to create a robust, transparent, and harmonised system for quantifying, certifying, and trading carbon removals generated through regenerative agriculture and other nature-based solutions. This aligns with the EU's broader policy framework to incentivise and scale up sustainable agriculture practices that can contribute to climate change mitigation. By developing standardised certification rules and boosting the market for supporting services, the EU aims to empower farmers and agribusinesses to play a pivotal role in the transition towards a climate-neutral economy.
Carbon sequestration and emissions reduction
The webinar highlighted carbon sequestration as a key strategy for mitigating emissions and enhancing resilience in agriculture. Speakers discussed real-life case studies illustrating how digital solutions are enabling farmers to adopt regenerative agricultural practices.
The case studies included projects in Spain and Portugal, demonstrating the practical implementation of carbon sequestration and emissions reduction strategies in agriculture. The conversation highlighted the agricultural sector's potential to contribute to reducing emissions and providing carbon removals through carbon sequestration and bio-based materials.
Additionally, the speakers discussed the importance of empowering farmers with data on emissions, removals, and impacts on nature and biodiversity. This information is crucial for enabling farmers to make informed decisions and effectively participate in carbon sequestration and emissions reduction initiatives.
Achieving resilient Supply chains through collaboration
The discussion highlighted the essential role of collaboration among a diverse range of stakeholders, including technology providers, regulatory bodies, corporations, and farmers, in driving widespread adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. By bringing together these different perspectives and expertise, initiatives can be designed to effectively support and empower growers, ensuring that the benefits of sustainable practices are realised across the entire agricultural sector.
This collaboration is crucial for developing resilient systems that can adapt to changing market conditions, environmental challenges, and other external factors. For sustainable agricultural initiatives to create meaningful value, they must be designed to be scalable and replicable across different regions and farming communities. This will enhance the robustness and adaptability of agricultural supply chains to withstand disruption and ensure long-term sustainability.
By cultivating a diverse ecosystem of collaborators, sustainable agriculture initiatives can unlock greater impact and ensure the long-term viability of the agricultural sector.
Addressing challenges
Incentivising farmer engagement: Ensuring that farmers are active participants and direct beneficiaries of carbon farming and other sustainable initiatives is crucial. Participants stressed the need for the right kind of incentives and support mechanisms to empower and engage farmers in the transition towards more sustainable practices.
Regulatory and policy frameworks: Developing appropriate regulations and policy environments that effectively work to drive the desired impacts is a pressing challenge. Speakers emphasised the importance of the next 5 years as a critical window for the digital transformation of agriculture, underscoring the need for policies and frameworks to enable and support this transition.
Aligning finance and decision-making: Access to finance remains a significant barrier, with the need for insurance and financial support to help farmers navigate the risk period during the adoption of sustainable practices. Participants highlighted the disconnect between the ESG finance world and the realities faced by farmers, with misaligned metrics and a lack of integration between the two spheres. Addressing this challenge is vital to creating the right conditions for farmers to make informed decisions and unlock the value of sustainable agriculture. The webinar also highlighted the complex issue of carbon accounting and claims in agricultural projects. The differences in individual vs. jurisdictional approaches to carbon credits are a challenge. The conversation emphasised the need for clear allocation and accounting metrics to avoid double counting and ensure fair distribution of credits
Data accuracy and comparability: The discussion underscored the importance of accurate data collection and the ability to compare data across different contexts and time periods. Ensuring data integrity and comparability is essential for building trust in carbon farming projects and other data-driven sustainable initiatives.
Market and regulatory incentives: The role of private markets and regulatory frameworks in incentivising sustainable practices and building trust in carbon farming projects was a key topic of discussion. Speakers addressed the need for standardised frameworks and mechanisms to properly compensate farmers for their carbon farming efforts, as the market is still evolving and lacks clear guidelines.
Global considerations and equity: Participants emphasised the importance of ensuring that carbon farming projects are sustainable and equitable, particularly in regions like Africa, to avoid exploitation and ensure fair compensation for local farming communities. Addressing global disparities and ensuring a just transition towards sustainable agriculture is crucial for achieving lasting and inclusive change.
The panel:
Valeria Forlin, policy officer, European Comission (DG Climate)
Juan Palomares, managing director EU, Trinity AgTech
Lionnel Alexandre, head of carbon business EMEA, Bayer Crop Science
The webinar was moderated by Toby Webb, founder of Innovation Forum.
Additional readings
This is the second webinar in Bayer’s ‘Beneath the surface’ series, the first webinar was in March and examined the best practices for soil regeneration:
To view a video recording of the first webinar webinar, click here
This is a link to register for the 5 technical workshops we are organising in the next months to provide us with inputs on how such a policy could look like and what could its impacts be.
The European Commission is also calling for proposals, which are funding opportunities issued by the European Union institutions, agencies and bodies that serve EU policies. One of the topics is "Development of high spatial-resolution monitoring approaches and geographically-explicit registry for carbon farming." This focuses on creating the digital infrastructure for the implementation of the carbon removal certification framework. Click here for further details.
