Leveraging soil organic carbon credits to enhance smallholder food security and planetary health

Summary

This paper addresses the interconnected challenges of food security, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity conservation through the lens of soil health and carbon sequestration. The authors examine how soil organic carbon credit schemes, coupled with Sustainable Agricultural Land Management practices (including conservation agriculture, climate-smart farming, and agroecological approaches), can generate substantial economic returns whilst reversing soil degradation affecting billions of people globally, particularly in regions like Eastern Africa. The work argues that leveraging SOC credits represents a high-return investment strategy for restoring degraded land and enhancing planetary health outcomes.

UK applicability

Whilst the abstract emphasises degradation in Eastern Africa where 65% of agricultural land is degraded, UK soils are generally less severely degraded but still benefit from similar SALM practices. UK policy frameworks around carbon credits and soil health are increasingly aligned with these principles; however, the economic modelling and smallholder-focused interventions may require contextualisation for UK farm scales and market structures.

Key measures

Return on investment of SOC-based interventions (estimated $7–$30 per $1 invested); extent of global and regional land degradation; carbon sequestration potential through SALM practices; food security outcomes for smallholders

Outcomes reported

The paper likely examines how soil organic carbon (SOC) credit mechanisms can simultaneously enhance food security for smallholders and contribute to climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. It presumably evaluates the economic returns and sustainability outcomes of implementing Sustainable Agricultural Land Management (SALM) practices across degraded agricultural lands.

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