ANNOUNCEMENTS
In India, organic agriculture represents huge potential for using carbon sequestration to tackle climate change and limit GHG emissions. However, smallholder organic farmers are most often excluded from participating in any carbon finance mechanisms due to systemic, technical, and institutional impediments. This dissertation identifies the challenges and potential for easier inclusion of smallholder organic farmers into India's agricultural carbon market space Additionally, the project involves active reviewing of Verra certified carbon farming projects across India, their geographical areas, GHG reduction estimates, methodological validity, monitoring protocols, and how farmers benefit from the process.
Data were obtained from various sources, including project documentation, government reports, scientific literature, and stakeholder consultations. The study finds that while projects such as OM Organic Cotton and Qmark Foundation have high levels of technical credibility and inclusive farmer engagement, there are challenges in MRV compliance, benefit-sharing transparency, and additionality validation. The dissertation also highlights gaps in current certification accessibility, dissemination of knowledge, and financial risk management to smallholder farmers.
Possible recommendations include state-sponsored carbon aggregation cooperatives, streamlined certification and MRV processes, and investment in digital MRV technologies. If these systemic inefficiencies are addressed it can result in scaling up of carbon farming projects with smallholders to create Verified Carbon Units, accessing sustainable additional income sources. The incorporation of smallholder organic farmers into voluntary and compliance carbon markets not only would help achieve India's climate goals, but it would also improve rural livelihood systems, ecosystem resilience, and sustainable transformation of agriculture.
Keywords: Smallholder farmers, Agriculture Carbon Markets, Verified Carbon Units (VCUs), Organic Agriculture, Voluntary Carbon Market, VCS Verra Methodology
