Carbon Farming Research Articles

‘Carbon farming’: what are the challenges for sugar beet and sugarcane growers?

‘Carbon farming’: what are the challenges for sugar beet and sugarcane growers?

Examining the role of national governance capacity in building the global low-carbon agricultural supply chains

The majority of related research has traditionally focused on examining the individual influences of national governance capacity and technological innovation on carbon emissions and economic performance, neglecting the effects and influence mechanisms on carbon efficiency within agricultural supply chains, which is not conducive to advancing a low-carbon transition that includes agricultural concerns. This study addresses these gaps by investigating the correlation between national governance capacity (considering voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption control) and agricultural supply chain carbon efficiency and investigating the influence mechanism and mediating role of technological innovation. The relevant findings are twofold. 1) The impact of national governance capacity and its components on agricultural carbon efficiency follows an inverted U-shaped curve. 2) Technological innovation can act as a mediator between national governance capacity and select factors of voice and accountability, government effectiveness and regulatory quality to enhance agricultural supply chain carbon efficiency. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and managers in agricultural supply chain enterprises seeking to transition towards low-carbon agriculture.

Carbon farming in India: are the existing projects inclusive, additional, and permanent?

ABSTRACT As voluntary carbon markets gain popularity, carbon farming emerges as a win-win strategy to mitigate climate change and improve farmers’ income in developing countries. India, with over 50 active carbon farming projects and an impending domestic carbon market, forms an ideal case to explore the early-stage challenges of these initiatives. Using survey data from 841 farmers from seven carbon farming project villages in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, this study focused on socio-economic inclusion and adherence to additionality and permanence principles, which are underexplored in the existing literature. We found that carbon farmers were predominantly large-holders and from non-marginalized castes, showing patterns of systematic exclusion. Only 4% of participants were women. Around 99% of farmers had not received any monetary benefit. While certain agricultural practices predated carbon projects, raising concerns about additionality, practices like no-tillage, alternate wetting and drying, intercropping, reduced chemical fertilizers, micro-irrigation, and tree planting aligned with additionality principles. Nonetheless, a high disadoption rate (28%) raises concerns about the permanence of emissions reduction. Our findings also indicated that companies that exclusively focus on carbon credits, termed ‘Carbon Core’ companies in this study, were more efficient in spreading regenerative agricultural practices than subsidiaries or offshoots of larger corporations whose primary businesses are unrelated to carbon credits.

Navigating the complex policy landscape for carbon farming in The Netherlands and the EU

Background The EU carbon removal and carbon farming (CRCF) framework sets the quality requirements for voluntary greenhouse gas certification schemes for i) permanent removal, ii) temporary carbon storage in long-lasting products, iii) temporary carbon storage from carbon farming, and iv) soil emission reduction. The next step is to develop “tailored certification methodologies for different types of carbon removal activities.” Via CRCF compliant certification schemes, certificates can be issued and sold to generate extra funding for carbon farming via voluntary carbon markets or other (future) performance-based incentive schemes (e.g., Agri sector Emissions Trading Scheme). Method We provide a qualitative assessment of the complex landscape of carbon farming incentive schemes and their associated monitoring, reporting, verification, and certification (MRV-C) frameworks. To illustrate these complexities, we take the farmers’ perspective of a Dutch dairy farmer that wants to implement different carbon farming activities (i.e., a portfolio), while aiming to secure a decent farm-level income. We discuss the farmers’ challenge by analyzing different options and routes for the financial valorization for several carbon farming activities. Results We find that the incremental MRV-C and incentive schemes, like the EU CRCF and potential agri-ETS are likely to add to the existing administrative burden for (carbon) farmers in the EU. Proper alignment, integration and standardization of the EU CRCF with existing MRV-C infrastructure(s) is needed to limit the administrative burden and transaction costs. Also, there is a need to provide better ex-ante clarity to (carbon) farmers and investors on the complementarity of incentive schemes from different policy domains (e.g., agriculture, climate, energy, bioeconomy). Conclusion We argue that the complexity of the MRV-C and incentives landscape ads to the administrative burden and flag this a potential source of inertia for investments in carbon farming. We conclude with recommendations to simplify and streamline the policy mix and MRV-C processes.

Response Mechanism and Evolution Trend of Carbon Effect in the Farmland Ecosystem of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

The farmland system in the global terrestrial ecosystem has dual attributes as both a carbon source and a carbon sink, playing a crucial role in controlling carbon emissions and mitigating global warming. Using carbon source and sink accounting of farmland ecosystems, we applied methods such as standard deviation ellipse, Tapio decoupling theory, and Markov chain to analyze the spatiotemporal changes, response mechanisms, and evolutionary trends of regional carbon effects. The results indicated that from 2011 to 2021, the farmland ecosystem in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River consistently acted as a carbon sink. However, the net carbon sink showed slight fluctuations and significant spatial differences. The migration range of the net carbon sink center in the farmland ecosystem of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was relatively small, ranging from 115.52 to 115.77° E and 30.14 to 30.27° N. The decomposition of the Tapio decoupling index between the net carbon sink of the farmland ecosystem and agricultural output value showed the order of effects on their coupling relationship as follows: agricultural mechanization level > agricultural mechanization efficiency > agricultural output value > planting scale. The probability of maintaining the original state of net carbon sink in various cities in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (over 77%) was much higher than the probability of transfer, making it difficult to achieve a leapfrog growth in net carbon sink. The net carbon sink at the city scale exhibits the Matthew effect and spatial spillover effect. The above research results clarify the spatiotemporal changes in carbon effects in agricultural production at multiple levels, including city, province, and region. They also provide a theoretical basis for formulating differentiated regional emission reduction and sink enhancement strategies in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, promoting the rapid development of low-carbon agriculture in China.

Exploration of the optimal low-carbon peanut rotation system in South China

CONTEXTPeanut is an important economic and oil crop that has the potential to contribute to low-carbon agriculture. However, there is scarcity of comprehensive evaluations regarding the impact of various peanut rotation systems and their contribution to low-carbon agriculture. OBJECTIVEThe research aims to comprehensively evaluate the contribution of peanut rotation systems to low-carbon agriculture in South China, and expected to explore the optimal low-carbon peanut rotation system in this area. METHODSThree cropping patterns were compared over a four-year experimental period: wheat–peanut (W-P) rotation, rape–peanut (R-P) rotation, and peanut monocropping (MP), under two types of initial fields (paddy and dryland). The carbon footprint (CF), product carbon footprint (PCF), carbon sequestration, food carbon cost (FCC), soil carbon characteristics, net economic benefit, and ecosystem service values of C sequestration of three rotation ecosystems were studied. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSOur findings reveal that R-P, WP, and MP had total CFs of 1.788, 3.882, and 1.096 t CO2-eq·hm−2, respectively. Agricultural material input, particularly N fertilizer, was the primary CF contributor. R-P had higher carbon sequestration amount and efficiency than WP. Notably, dryland-initial fields of both R-P and WP had higher carbon sequestration efficiency (71.1 % and 17.6 % higher, specifically). Our soil carbon analysis indicates that both plant residue quality and initial field type influence C sequestration. While WP had the highest PCF (0.552 t CO2-eq t−1) and FCC of protein (3.428 kg CO2-eq·kg−1), fat (3.791 kg CO2-eq·kg−1), and energy (0.135 kg CO2-eq·1000 kcal−1), R-P showed the highest net income (3333.3 US$·hm−2) and higher ecosystem service value of C sequestration (−5.6 US$·hm−2). Furthermore, our findings reveal that common crop rotations in South China have higher CFs than the tested peanut-based systems. Therefore, R-P rotation is the most suitable system for low-carbon agriculture in the research area among these three rotations due to its lower carbon cost and higher economic benefits. And the advantages, disadvantages and uncertainties of different low-carbon agricultural indicators have also been analyzed. SIGNIFICANCEOur study would contribute to exploring agroecosystems management ways and methods to mitigation climate change and provide references for the establishment of evaluation criteria for low-carbon agriculture.

The Coupling Coordination Relationship between Green Low-Carbon Agriculture and Socio-Economic Systems: Based on the Empirical Analysis of 31 Provinces in China

The Coupling Coordination Relationship between Green Low-Carbon Agriculture and Socio-Economic Systems: Based on the Empirical Analysis of 31 Provinces in China

A case study on enhancing dairy cattle sustainability: The impact of silvopastoral systems and improved pastures on milk carbon footprint and farm economics in Cauca department, Colombia

A case study on enhancing dairy cattle sustainability: The impact of silvopastoral systems and improved pastures on milk carbon footprint and farm economics in Cauca department, Colombia

Theoretical Approaches for Evaluating the Environmental and Economic Effectiveness of Carbon Farms under the Carbon Tax Mechanism

The introduction of the "carbon tax" in cross-border operations worldwide and its imminent payment obligation for Russian exporting companies are being examined. A carbon farm is presented as a tool for reducing the carbon footprint. Three different methods for calculating the net benefits of carbon footprint reduction are evaluated, accompanied by formulas for formalizing the resulting economic impact. Sixteen typical dump sites are examined in relation to their economic net benefit and three promising locations are identified. The analysis findings may serve in formulating and executing an ESG strategy aligned with sustainable development in the business sector.

Carbon Farming of Main Staple Crops: A Systematic Review of Carbon Sequestration Potential

Carbon farming has become increasingly popular as it integrates agriculture, forestry, and diverse land use practices, all crucial for implementing European strategies aimed at capturing 310 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These farming methods were proven to reliably increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. However, there is a lack of discussion and consensus regarding the standards used to report these values and their implications. This article analyzes carbon sequestration rates, calculation methodologies, and communication procedures, as well as potential co-benefits and best practices. The average carbon sequestration rates in major staple crops range from very low values (0–0.5 Mg/ha/yr) to medium values (1–5 Mg/ha/yr). Scientific agricultural experiments in key global staple crops demonstrate positive rates of 4.96 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in wheat–maize rotations and 0.52–0.69 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in rice–wheat rotations. In agriculture, carbon sequestration rates are reported using different terms that are not consistent and pose communication challenges. This assessment involves a systematic review of the scientific literature, including articles, reviews, book chapters, and conference papers indexed in Scopus from 2001 to 2022. Specifically, this review focuses on long-term experiments, meta-analyses, and reviews that report an increase in soil carbon stock. The research trends observed, through a VOSviewer 1.6.18 analysis, show a steadily increasing interest in the field of carbon sequestration.

Development of Ecological Low-Carbon Agriculture with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era: Features, Practical Issues, and Pathways

Agriculture is not only the source of carbon emissions, but also an important carbon sink. The development of low-carbon agriculture in China is closely related to achieving the national strategic goal of “dual carbon.” Reducing carbon emissions in China’s agricultural sector and accelerating the development of ecological low-carbon agriculture (ELA) are extremely important and urgent, both from the perspective of the long-term common welfare for mankind and from the perspective of maintaining the sustainable development of agriculture itself. However, ELA is still an emerging concept in China, and its connotation and characteristics are not yet clear. There is a lack of effective paths for orderly and scientific promotion of the development of ELA in China. Based on this, this paper focuses on the emerging concept of ELA and examines ELA with Chinese characteristics from the dimensions of connotation, features, practical issues, and pathways, aiming to provide guidance for the sustainable development of ELA in China. The research results indicate that there are regional development imbalances, low willingness of farmers to participate, insufficient technological reserves, and difficulties in realizing the value of ecological products in China’s ELA. It is necessary to improve the modern agricultural production and operation system, tap into the potential of agricultural emission reduction and carbon sequestration, build a technical system to support the development of ELA, and establish a sound mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products. By continuously improving the regional organizational capacity and performance of ELA, accelerating the advancement of ELA technology and demonstrating its regional promotion, and by establishing and continuously improving the support system for ELA, one can promote the sustainable development of ELA in China. In addition, the research findings of this paper can also provide reference for the ecological low-carbon development of the global agricultural sector, supporting the contribution of the agricultural sector to achieving high-quality global sustainable development goals.

Are farmers willing to pay for low-carbon agriculture? Evidence from China

PurposeReducing carbon emissions in agriculture is vital for fostering sustainable agricultural growth and promoting ecological well-being in rural areas. The adoption of Low-Carbon Agriculture (LCA) by farmers holds great potential to accomplish substantial reductions in carbon emissions. The purpose of this study is to explore the farmers' preference and willingness to engage in LCA.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs the Choice Experiment (CE) method to examine farmers' preferences and willingness to adopt LCA, using field survey data of 544 rural farmers in the Weihe River Basin between June and July 2023. We further investigate differences in willingness to pay (WTP) and personal characteristics among different farmer categories.FindingsThe empirical results reveal that farmers prioritize government-led initiatives providing pertinent technical training as a key aspect of the LCA program. Farmers' decisions to participate in LCA are influenced by factors including age, gender, education and the proportion of farm income in household income, with their evaluations further shaped by subjective attitudes and habits. Notably, we discovered that nearly half of the farmers exhibit indifference towards LCA attributes.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to investigate farmers' attitudes toward LCA from their own perspectives and to analyze the factors influencing them from both subjective and objective standpoints. This study presents a fresh perspective for advocating LCA, bolstering rural ecology and nurturing sustainable development in developing nations.

Efficiency and Driving Factors of Agricultural Carbon Emissions: A Study in Chinese State Farms

Promoting low-carbon agriculture is vital for climate action and food security. State farms serve as crucial agricultural production bases in China and are essential in reducing China’s carbon emissions and boosting emission efficiency. This study calculates the carbon emissions of state farms across 29 Chinese provinces using the IPCC method from 2010 to 2022. It also evaluates emission efficiency with the Super-Slack-Based Measure (Super-SBM model) and analyzes influencing factors using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method. The findings suggest that the three largest carbon sources are rice planting, chemical fertilizers, and land tillage. Secondly, agricultural carbon emissions in state farms initially surge, stabilize with fluctuations, and ultimately decline, with higher emissions observed in northern and eastern China. Thirdly, the rise of agricultural carbon emission efficiency is driven primarily by technological progress. Lastly, economic development and industry structure promote agricultural carbon emissions, while production efficiency and labor scale reduce them. To reduce carbon emissions from state farms in China and improve agricultural carbon emission efficiency, the following measures can be taken: (1) Improve agricultural production efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in all links; (2) Optimize the agricultural industrial structure and promote the coordinated development of agriculture; (3) Reduce the agricultural labor scale and promote the specialization, professionalization, and high-quality development of agricultural labor; (4) Accelerate agricultural green technology innovation and guide the green transformation of state farms. This study enriches the theoretical foundation of low-carbon agriculture and develops a framework for assessing carbon emissions in Chinese state farms, offering guidance for future research and policy development in sustainable agriculture.

Labile not stable SOC fractions constitute the manageable drivers of soil health advances in carbon farming

The assessment of soil health and the determination of carbon stability in soils are current challenges that have gained momentum through initiatives at national as well as international scales. However, inferring universally valid soil health parameters that are directly linked to carbon permanence remains challenging. Our aim was to evaluate the potential of simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) for an improved monitoring of soil health advances in the context of carbon farming strategies. For this purpose, an on-farm comparison of soil health in ten conservation agricultural systems with adjacent conventional farms was performed based on STA and thermal measures were related to key biological and physical indicators for monitoring soil functions. Using an autocorrelation-based approach, we identified independent thermal indicators, revealing that carbon farming efforts predominantly increased labile soil organic matter fractions in the range of 300–400 °C, while thermally more recalcitrant fractions did not respond to farming system transformation. Similarly, most soil health indicators revealed highest correlation with temperature ranges of mass loss of labile organic matter fractions. The relation of STA with commonly used soil health indicators was highest for soil organic carbon (SOC, r=0.971) and total nitrogen (TN, r=0.981). However, also inference on microbial activity parameters such as dimethylsulfoxid reduction, microbial biomass carbon and substrate-induced respiration could be demonstrated with r>0.663. The results thus highlight key temperature ranges of organic matter stability for future soil monitoring tasks of climate change mitigation potentials of carbon farming and related advances in soil health.

Carbon farming and nutrient management. Influential factors of Polish farmers’ perception of pro-climate measures

Carbon farming and nutrient management. Influential factors of Polish farmers’ perception of pro-climate measures

Analysis of the impact of resource misallocation and socialized services on low-carbon agricultural production with DML based on random forest

The substantial increase in agricultural carbon emissions (ACEs) contributes significantly to global warming, and agricultural resource misallocation (ARM) plays a major role in the rise of ACEs. Therefore, the aim of developing modern agriculture is to reduce ARM and promote low-carbon agriculture. To achieve this, the double machine learning model (DML) and moderating effect model are adopted in the present study to explore the correlations between agricultural socialized services (ASS), ARM, and ACEs. Also, the ARM index is calculated using the panel data collected from 31 provinces during the 2004–2020 period in China. The research results are as follows. Firstly, ARM has a significant positive impact on ACEs at the 1% significance level. Secondly, ASS exerts significant negative regulatory effects on ARM and ACEs at the 1% significance level. Lastly, the goodness of fit (R2) reaches 95% and 40% for DML and the fixed effect model (FEM), respectively. Relatively, DML performs better in the goodness of fit according to this study. Furthermore, it is found out in this study that land misallocation, labor misallocation and capital misallocation increase ACEs and impede the development of low-carbon agriculture. Also, as a regulatory variable, ASS mitigates the ARM-induced increase of ACEs. Therefore, these findings provide guidance on the development of low-carbon agriculture for ASS.

Dual carbon goal and agriculture in China: Exploring key factors influencing farmers’ behavior in adopting low carbon technologies

Identifying the factors influencing farmers’ adoption of low-carbon technologies (FA) and understanding their impacts are essential for shaping effective agricultural policies amied at emission reduction and carbon sequestration in China. This study employs a meta-analysis of 122 empirical studies, delves into 23 driving factors affecting FA and addresses the inconsistencies present in the existing literature. We systematically examine the effect size, source of heterogeneity, and time-accumulation effect of the driving factors on FA. We find that significant heterogeneity in the factors influencing FA, except for farming experience, sources of heterogeneity from the survey zone, methodology model, technological attributes, report source, financial support, and the sampling year. Additionally, age, farming experience, and adoption cost negatively correlate with FA. In contrast, educational level, health status, technical training, economic and welfare cognition, land contract, soil quality, terrain, information accessibility, demonstration, government promotion, government regulation, government support, agricultural cooperatives member, peer effect, and agricultural income ratio demonstrate a positive correlation. Especially, demonstration and age show a particularly strong correlation. Finally, the effect of demonstration, age, economic and welfare cognition, farming experience, land contract, soil quality, information accessibility, government promotion, and support, as well as agricultural cooperative membership and peer effects on FA, are generally stable but exhibit varying degrees of attenuation over time. The effect of village cadre, family income, farm scale, gender, health status, technical training, and off-farm work on FA show notable temporal shifts and maintain a weak correlation with FA. This study contributes to shaping China's current low-carbon agriculture policies across various regions. It encourages policymakers to comprehensively consider the stability of key factors, other potential factors, technological attributes, rural socio-economic context, and their interrelations.

Public Policies, Sustainable Purchases and Family Farming in Brazil – 2013 a 2023

Objectives: to characterize and analyze the public policies and sustainable purchases that contribute to reducing environmental impacts and promote the development of family farming. In order to address the general objective of the research, the following specific objectives were carried out: 1) Contextualize family farming in Brazil; 2) Present and analyze the following public policies focused on family farming: Low Carbon Agriculture - ABC Plan, National Program for Strengthening Family Farming - PRONAF, Food Acquisition Program - PAA and National School Feeding Program - PNAE and 3) discuss the process of sustainable bidding and family farming. Methodology and data sources: the methodology used to achieve the study's objectives was tabular and graphical analysis of secondary data. The data sources were collected from the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA), the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) through the Rural Credit Matrix, the National Supply Company (CONAB), the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE) and data from the National Secretariat for Rural Social and Productive Inclusion (SEISP) through the Secretariat for Evaluation, Information Management and Single Registry (SAGICAD) platform. In addition, exploratory research was carried out using a bibliographic survey to support the results found. The period of analysis was from 2013 to 2023. Results: It is important to consider that the public policies mentioned above contribute to aligning economic, social and environmental aspects. Based on the evidence obtained, the programs proved to be effective in their aim of supporting family farming. Therefore, in order to continue their actions, it is recommended that the main characteristics of their design be maintained, which have been fundamental to achieving their results and, above all, that resources for their actions be expanded and guaranteed.

Coupled coordination and pathway analysis of food security and carbon emission efficiency under climate-smart agriculture orientation

Owing to the contradiction between agricultural production and environmental development, the issues of food security and carbon mitigation cannot be isolated, and achieving coupled and coordinated development is the key to agricultural sustainability. This study adopted the coupled coordination model and dynamic qualitative comparative analysis (dynamic QCA) method to measure the coupled coordination degree (CCD) of the food security index (FSI) and agricultural carbon emission efficiency (ACEE) in 31 provinces of China from 2010 to 2021, seeking paths to achieve high coupled coordination from Climate-Smart Agriculture technology, external environment, and incentive dimensions, and simulating path selection differences under various CSA priority scenarios. The results indicated that the CCD of the FSI and ACEE in China significantly increased year-on-year increase, with significant regional differences primarily reflected in the Northeast > East > West > Central regions. Based on the CSA orientation, the “technology-environmental safeguard” linkage path and the “technology-environment-incentive” hybrid path are proposed. There are differences in CSA practices across regions, which require customization based on their unique socioeconomic, ecological, and political landscapes. When priorities favour food security, the “technology-environment-incentive” hybrid pathway supports high CCD, and as priorities increase, the contribution of CSA technologies, centred on water-saving irrigation, increases and the role of the external environment diminishes. When the priority tendency is to mitigate emissions, both paths can achieve high CCD. As the priority tendency for carbon emissions increases, urbanisation and CSA technologies such as water-saving irrigation and straw return become essential factors contributing to higher coupling coordination, and the role of agriculture-related financial expenditures diminishes. These findings provide policy support for safeguarding food security and low-carbon agriculture.

ОТ ПОЛИГОНА К КАРБОНОВОЙ ФЕРМЕ: БИЗНЕС-МОДЕЛЬ

In the context of the climate agenda, a systematic presentation of the scientific, methodological and educational tasks of the carbon landfill is given, the «carbon theme» is designated and the subprocesses (main, accompanying, providing and managerial) of the carbon sequestration process implemented on carbon farm plantations as a potential business-process are highlighted. Based on a comparison of well-known approaches to business modeling of entrepreneurial activity, a research hypothesis was formulated and the interpretation, composition of elements of the carbon farm business model, its value proposition were clarified, and the uniqueness of the final product (services for the absorption and sequestration of carbon by «air-plant-soil» ecosystems) was noted. The distinctive characteristics of the dynamic, complex, sensitive and multifactorial natural process of decarbonization as the basis of the operating cycle are substantiated. It is shown that biological features of the business process generate various risks, this does not guarantee sustainable profit generation. A three-link value chain and a business-model mind-map are proposed, which can serve as a working tool for planning, monitoring, diagnostics and critical analysis of the commercialization of an ecosystem service in the context of the emerging sequestration (decarbonization) industry. The scientific novelty of the work consists in adapting the management template «business-model» proven by the practice of industrial enterprises in relation to the new ecosystem service «decarbonization», which is a natural result of the transformation of carbon polygons into carbon farms as business entities.