Carbon Farming: Fundamental know-how of Earning Tradable Carbon Credits from Agroforestry Farms and Policy Support

Carbon farming is a sustainable new farming practice that helps farmers fight against climate change and also earn extra income. However, earning tradable carbon credits from agriculture in general and agroforestry farms in particular poses challenges. The main aim of this article is to address fundamental queries relating to carbon farming and policy support, different carbon pools of agroforestry and their estimation, and constraints and future prospects of carbon farming. All the techniques and practices, including agroforestry, cover cropping, reduced/no tillage, rotational grazing, crop rotation, micro-irrigation, livestock management, integrated nutrient management, agroecology management, biodiversity/ diversification, water management, conservation agriculture, biochar application, organic farming, wetland restoration, and integrated farming systems, have the potential to enhance carbon sequestration/storage in soil and vegetation and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can earn tradable carbon credits. Agroforestry can lead the charge of carbon farming as it alone is capable of sequestering 9.95 million tons of carbon equivalent to 36.5 million carbon credits annually from an existing area of 28.4 mha and can offset 1.29% of total GHG emissions in the country. To promote carbon farming, carbon credit trading schemes (CCTS) and green credit programs (GCP) have been initiated in the country. Conclusively, the key to earning carbon credits from farmland is to reduce carbon footprints by using low-energy inputs and innovative agri-techniques. Also, there is a need to develop low-cost, scientifically robust, and approved protocols/methodologies for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of carbon credits/carbon offsets for carbon farming in India.