Carbon farming
Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Carbon farming means using farm and land practices that pull carbon dioxide out of the air and store it in soil and trees. Examples include agroforestry (growing trees along with crops) and reducing ploughing. Stored carbon helps slow climate change. If the storage is measured and verified, the farmer can earn carbon credits and sell them.
Example
A farmer plants rows of trees along their fields and stops burning crop stubble. Carbon builds up in the trees and the soil. If one tonne of CO2-equivalent is verified as removed, it can earn one carbon credit, which the farmer can sell to a buyer offsetting their own emissions.
Don't confuse with
- Green credit: under India's Green Credit Rules (2023), a green credit is a tradable unit for voluntary green actions such as tree planting or water saving. It is not a carbon credit, which always equals 1 tonne of CO2e.
Related concepts
- Traditional knowledge
- Vermicomposting
- Biopest control
- Integrated pest management
- Organic farming
- Organic food
- Natural farming
- Zero budget natural farming
- Conservation agriculture
- Zero tillage