Rewarding Climate Action: Recognizing the Contributions of Organic Farmers

Organic farming offers a systemic approach for climate mitigation and adaptation while sustaining healthy soils and protecting biodiversity. Organic agriculture reduces greenhouse gas emissions by refraining from the use of synthetic fertilizer and pesticides and using less energy. Common organic practices like crop rotations including legumes, cover crops or reduced tillage help to improve soil quality and fertility while also contributing to higher soil organic carbon stocks. These practices also support species protection and increase biodiversity as well as support ecosystem functions. Overall, the holistic approach of organic leads to more resilient farming systems.
However, organic farmers face some limitations under existing rewarding mechanisms for their climate action.
Carbon farming schemes typically only reward “additional” efforts. This is a barrier for first movers, like organic farmers, as they often have already built up soil organic carbon stocks. Their past efforts are not recognized and the maintenance of soil carbon is not incentivized.
In many cases, existing carbon farming schemes have a narrow approach. They do not take a whole farm approach and a carbon balance at farm level. Instead, they focus on efficiency and only on specific aspects like soil organic carbon. Externalities of the farming system, including biodiversity and ecosystem services, are often neglected.
Current rewarding mechanisms often do not remunerate farmers proportionally to the environmental benefits they provide. For example, in some EU Member States organic farmers have restricted access to environmental payments of the CAP due to the alleged issue of double funding.
To ensure organic farmers are rewarded appropriately, mechanisms should:
take a systemic, whole farm approach to rewarding climate action.
compensate proportionally for providing environmental benefits.
recognize the efforts of first movers and support the maintenance of carbon soil.