World Soil Day, CIB and Green Chemistry: Carbon farming as a key strategy for sustainability and the future of agriculture

“Cultivating carbon” as a key tool for protecting the soil and combating climate change, but also a tool potentially available to farmers to see their contribution to the agro-ecological transition recognised. CIB-Consorzio Italiano Biogas and Chimica Verde, in collaboration with the Accademia dei Georgofili in Florence, discussed the issue today to gather proposals at both national and European level on what can be done to give greater impetus to the spread of carbon farming, on the eve of the final approval of the European directive on the subject and on the occasion of World Soil Day. The meeting ‘Carbon Farming: criteria, solutions and perspectives’ brought together experts, companies, and institutions to discuss the fundamental role agriculture can play in combating climate change through soil carbon sequestration.
The implementation of soil protection measures such as cover crops, intercropping, conservation tillage and the use of digestate (instead of chemical fertiliser) or the spread of agroforestry and mixed farming practices, integrating trees or shrubs into crop and/or livestock management are among the principles that can guide the conservation and restoration of organic matter in the soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to reducing GHG emissions, these techniques improve soil fertility, increase resilience to the effects of climate change and promote more sustainable agricultural production.
In this context, carbon farming is confirmed as one of the most promising tools to contribute to the achievement of European climate goals. A strategy that not only combats climate change, but also aims to reward farmers for adopting environmentally friendly practices and supplementing their income.
“Policies related to carbon farming represent a way to enhance the role of farmers as protagonists of the transition. In this context, the biogas chain is a strategic pillar as a driver for improving fertility and preserving organic matter in soils through the efficient use of digestate in fields. This is a path of innovation that we have encapsulated within the Farming for Future road map where, starting with the Biogasfattobene model, we can improve the agronomic approach by enhancing soil fertility and resilience without reducing productivity. We hope that the work done so far under the technical-agronomic profile will also be recognised under the regulatory and financial profile. While much has been done on a practical level, there is now an urgent need to refine the regulatory framework to enable farmers to fully apply all the actions of our model, starting with efficient organic fertilisation with digestate, a strategic factor in a circular approach and already a concrete example of Carbon Farming,’ says CIB President Piero Gattoni.