Rabobank aims to sign 15 million farmers up to a carbon capture platform by 2025, creating an area of agroforestry three times the size of the Netherlands in sub-Saharan Africa.
A pilot scheme, with hundreds of smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa, planted more than 50,000 trees last year.
Now, a formal launch, in partnership with Microsoft, has been announced for 2022.
It’s an online platform that connects large corporates looking to offset their emissions, with smallholder farmers who are sequestering carbon through agroforestry. This earns farmers an income ontop of the revenues from their produce.
It’s designed to help farmers transform from monoculture farming into future-proof agriculture.
“The beauty lies in linking climate-proofing to future-proofing food”
Wiebe Draijer, Chairman of the Managing Board at Rabobank said, “Every sector, every company and every individual has a role to play in reducing emissions.
“The agroforestry initiative curbs climate change, as compensation for emissions that cannot currently be avoided.
“The beauty of this project lies in linking it to climate-proofing and future-proofing the food system, truly connecting the dots for us as a cooperative bank in Food and Agriculture.”
The sequestered carbon will be measured by applying remote sensing, AI and machine learning.
Planting trees next to crops such as mango, avocado and acacia, improves soil nutrients and water levels. This reduces the risk of yield loss due to climate and weather events.
Participating farmers are part of the Rabo Foundation network, which is affiliated with African smallholder farmer cooperatives.
