In a vineyard in Northern Greece, in two fields sown with cereals and potatoes in Cyprus, and in an orchard overflowing with apples in North Macedonia an important “weapon” is hidden to combat climate change.

These crops act as “sinks” to absorb harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) and at the same time they can be a kind of peculiar bank for producers, who will be able to enjoy additional income, thanks to the “deposits” of greenhouse gases in their fields. It sounds complicated, but it’s not. Agricultural land and agricultural crops they have the ability to sequester CO2 anyway from the atmosphere. And through specific practices, this possibility can be multiplied. How; Through the so-called “carbon farming” or “carbon sequestration agriculture”, which is also promoted and supported by the European Union, both through the Common Agricultural Policy (which provides incentives to those producers who adopt practices that lead to greater carbon sequestration), and and through the European Green Deal and the “From Field to Fork” strategy.

“Carbon farming is the future. Agricultural land has the potential to store carbon and there are techniques that increase this potential. The question now is how to create a single certification system for the implementation of carbon farming, so that there is the possibility – in addition to the environmental benefit – to mobilize resources for farmers. Resources that can come through the Green Deal and the CAP, but also through the Pollutant Exchange, so that in the future farmers can gain additional income, not only from the most environmentally friendly product they will have on the market, but also from income that they will earn from the pollutants that the land binds (including through the so-called “carbon credits”)” Grigoris Chatzikostas, vice president of Business Development of Foodscale Hub, which is active in the field of agri-food and study, tells APE-MPE and implementation of agricultural economy programs co-financed by the European Union.

But are farmers willing to invest time and money to implement the necessary practices? “There is some reluctance among farmers, which is partly justified, but it needs to be made clear that carbon farming is being promoted across Europe, as is the need for a single certification system. It is the future that is coming and there are already some voluntary schemes in France, Germany and the Nordic countries. There are many challenges in Greece. Among them the small agricultural lot, the problems of collective organizations, the low technological level, but also the fact that the agricultural world is more adapted to a model of low added value in terms of standardization” he adds, in view of an event on carbon agriculture, which takes place within the framework of the 30th international exhibition AGROTICA, tomorrow, at 17.00, at the conference center “N. Germanos”, with organizers Enviromentrics, AgroApps and Foodscale Hub.

How can farmers sequester more CO2?

What are the farming techniques that increase CO2 sequestration? Including crop rotation, i.e. the rotation of crops in the same field, which may also include fallow, the planting of plants not for harvest but for ground cover, agroforestry and other forms of mixed agriculture, which combine woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with cropping and/or animal production systems on the same area, the protecting soils from erosion and enhancing soil organic carbon on degraded arable land, targeted conversion of set-aside land to permanent pasture, and restoration of peatlands and wetlands, which reduces oxidation of existing carbon stocks and increases potential carbon sequestration.

Foodscale Hub, among others, participates as a coordinating partner in the four-year project “Carbonica” funded by the Community program “Horizon”, which aims to connect the innovation ecosystems of Greece, Cyprus and North Macedonia, in terms of carbon sequestration agriculture , with the participation of all parts of the quadruple helix (i.e. the academic community, businesses, the state and Civil Society). According to Mr. Hatzikostas, this is a four-year (1/1/2023- 12/31/2026) project, with the scientific manager of the Inter-Balkan Environment Center, which also aims to create nodes of excellence in Greece, Cyprus, North Macedonia, around carbon farming.

The project involves 14 partners from the three countries, as well as 20 experts in “brain gain” activities, while over 30 are startups and SMEs that benefit from the business development services of the CARBONICA accelerator. In fact, as part of the project, demonstrative crops were also created: one annual (broccoli) and four perennial (apples, peaches, olive trees and vines) in Greece, three annuals (barley, broccoli and cabbage) and two perennials (apples and vines) in North Macedonia and two annual (cereal and potato) and three perennial (vine, olive and citrus) crops in Cyprus.

At tomorrow’s (Friday) event, in addition to Mr. Chatzikostas, Dr. Efstathios Klonaris, professor of the Department of Agricultural Economy and Development of the Agricultural University of Athens, Moschos Korassidis, director general of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Greece (ETHEAS), Apostolos Siskos will speak , Managing Partner of Envirometrics and Dr. Emmanuel Lekakis, chief agronomist of AgroApps, while the discussion will be moderated by Dr. Machi Symeonidou, managing director of AgroApps.