Common Practice Standards must have India outlook

Sub: economy

Agroforestry:

Agroforestry is a land use management system where trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland.
This practice combines agriculture and forestry to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable land-use systems.
India has a significant opportunity in agroforestry, which can be integrated with carbon finance projects through Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) initiatives.
Scope in India:
- By 2050, the area under agroforestry could expand from the current 28.4 million hectares to 53 million hectares.
- Currently, agroforestry covers 8.65% of India’s land and contributes 19.3% of the country’s carbon stocks.
- With the right policies and financial support, this sector could provide an additional carbon sink of over 2.5 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030.
Contributes 19.3% of India’s carbon stocks
Economic Importance:
- Provides additional income streams for farmers
- Helps in diversifying agricultural practices
- Can be integrated with carbon finance projects for extra revenue
Benefits:
- Enhances soil fertility
- Improves water retention
- Mitigates soil erosion
- Increases overall agricultural productivity
- Contributes to long-term sustainability

Understanding “Common Practice” in Carbon Finance:

In carbon finance, “common practice” helps assess whether a project is additional – meaning it goes beyond standard activities in a region. If an activity is deemed “common,” it may not qualify for carbon credits.
Current global carbon standards like Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Gold Standard focus on large-scale agricultural practices.
However, this does not suit India, where 86.1% of farmers are smallholders with less than two hectares of land. These small-scale agroforestry practices, while valuable, often don’t meet the additionality criteria, excluding many Indian farmers from carbon credit opportunities.

The Need for India-Centric Approaches:

India’s unique agricultural landscape requires rethinking the “common practice” standard to fit its smallholder farming model.
Adjusting carbon finance rules to accommodate India’s fragmented farms would allow more farmers to participate in ARR projects.
This could unlock agroforestry’s potential for carbon sequestration while boosting farmer incomes and advancing India’s climate goals.
By encouraging systematic agroforestry practices, carbon credit platforms could improve both environmental sustainability and rural livelihoods.

Benefits of Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) for Farmers

ARR initiatives offer solutions to many challenges in Indian agriculture, such as low productivity, monsoon dependency, and environmental degradation.
By adopting agroforestry through ARR projects, farmers can diversify their income and improve agricultural resilience.
Integrating trees into farms or restoring degraded land can provide farmers with income from carbon credits while also enhancing soil fertility, water retention, and reducing erosion.

Support for Small and Marginal Farmers

Research from organizations like The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has already demonstrated the success of ARR projects, benefiting over 56,600 farmers across seven states. However, for these initiatives to expand, international carbon standards need to adapt to India’s agricultural context.
Revising the “common practice” guidelines to better reflect Indian agroforestry practices would enable millions of smallholder farmers to participate in carbon finance, promoting sustainable development and boosting rural incomes.

Source: TH