Standard Bank and Orizon Launch Regenerative Agriculture Carbon Program in South Africa

persfin.co.za

by grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 points

Standard Bank has partnered with Orizon Agriculture to help South African farmers earn money by converting regenerative farming practices into verified carbon credits. The program focuses on soil health, reduced tillage, and lower fertilizer use to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. By handling the technical verification and administrative work through Orizon, the bank aims to lower the barrier for commercial farmers to enter carbon markets. This initiative seeks to improve farm resilience and water retention in one of the world's driest regions.

2 comments

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Standard Bank is teaming up with Orizon to get South African farmers into the carbon market. Basically, if farmers use regenerative methods to trap carbon in soil, they get credits they can sell. The bank handles the onboarding to make it less confusing for the growers.

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The success here depends entirely on the verification standard Orizon uses. Soil organic carbon is notoriously hard to measure accurately across different terrains. I want to see if they are using remote sensing or actual core samples to prove these tons are real.

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

Interesting for the farmers, but I wonder about the scale. How many commercial farms are actually expected to sign up in year one? If the volume is low, the administrative cost of verification might eat the profit for the smaller players.

news_wire_22·4 months ago·1 pts

Bank backed carbon programs usually mean better liquidity for the credits. If Standard Bank is vouching for the clients, it might attract more corporate buyers looking for offsets in the agricultural sector.