Resource information
This paper focuses on the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project, implemented by the NGO Vi Agroforestry, which is designing and implementing climate finance projects in the agricultural sector.
It argues that this project is doing ground-breaking work with means that, for the first time, while increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing resilience to climate change, smallholder farmers in Africa will receive benefits for greenhouse gas mitigation based on sustainable agricultural land management. The project has developed an activity monitoring system for sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) practices that enables smallholder famers and extension service provider to track and improve farm production. Based on the development of a carbon accounting methodology this system, in combination with a carbon model, is monitoring soil and biomass carbon sequestration consistent with the Verified Carbon Standard. As a result farmers in Africa for the first time can benefit from international voluntary carbon markets.
The paper describes the Vi Agroforestry extension approach, outlines the project objectives and activities, and explains the carbon accounting methodology. Project achievements and lessons learned, but also the challenges that still lie ahead are presented. The authors conclude that the project model has great potential for scaling up and provide a potential blueprint for widespread adoption and effective monitoring of sustainable agricultural management in smallholder conditions.
The main lessons learned are identified as:
Focus on smallholder farmers’ interests
A strong extension service with decades of focused extension experience
The monitoring system used should be cost effective, demand driven and user friendly
One of the future ways forward identified is scaling up. It is highlighted that Vi Agroforestry, together with partners, has conducted feasibility assessments in Uganda and Malawi to start similar projects based on their ongoing experience. It is also argued that the project serves as a model for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in the agricultural sector and a number of government and development partner initiatives are underway to explore possible modalities based on the Durban Action Plan of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Public awareness raising and consultations is identified as an important element of further scaling-up for sustainable agricultural management in Africa and other regions. The lessons learned are taken to indicate that this model can be used on a large scale and would benefit from modifications and lessons learned from implementation in other geographic locations, social and environmental settings.
[Adapted from source]
