This has been borne out by Bayer’s PRO Carbon initiative, as explained by program representatives during a visit to exchange perspectives with IICA on both entities’ efforts to develop a carbon neutral agriculture sector.
San Jose, 8 August 2023 (IICA). Adopting agricultural practices in synergy with the native vegetation of the land, accompanied by sustainable agricultural practices, such as direct seeding, crop rotation and the planting of cover crops, will enable countries to make significant headway in moving towards agricultural decarbonization and protecting the health of soils, which are a critical resource for agricultural production and global food security.
Bayer is one of the main partners in the Living Soils of the Americas initiative, which has been spearheaded by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Rattan Lal Carbon Management and Sequestration Center (CMASC) at the Ohio State University, which is managed by renowned U.S. scientist, Rattan Lal.
The Living Soils of the Americas program is based on various pillars. One of them is the implementation of regenerative agricultural practices to promote soil health, through sustainable actions to improve soil fertility, while increasing its water retention capacity and reducing erosion. The second pillar focuses on carbon measurement and carbon capture in agriculture, seeking to assist farmers to understand and measure the carbon emissions that they generate, as well as to promote emission reduction methods.
This has been borne out by the PRO Carbon initiative, implemented by Bayer, which is the first commercial program in integrated low-carbon agricultural practices. The initiative has extended to Argentina and Brazil, where it has involved more than 2,000 farmers (1,800 in Brazil and 200 in Argentina), providing them with the requisite tools and knowledge to drive sustainable production and reduce environmental impact. This not only benefits individual farmers, but also contributes to natural resource preservation and climate change mitigation at the global level.
Alessandra Fajardo, Bayer’s Director of Food Chain Partnerships for Latin America, explained that, “We have assisted more than 2,000 farmers to implement agricultural best practices to increase soil carbon and are cultivating approximately 200,000 hectares using these practices. We have conducted fertility and carbon analysis of these soils and after three years we have seen increased accumulation of carbon in the soil through the application of direct seeding, crop rotation and practices that lead to improved soil health”.
“We collect soil samples under different conditions involving changes in land use and the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices to see which of these could be used to restore soil carbon”, added Carlos Cerri, Professor at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of São Paolo (USP), who is part of the scientific-research team of the program.
Complementarity
Since 2020, IICA and CMASC have been undertaking the Living Soils of the Americas initiative, partnering not only with companies, such as Bayer, but also with the ministries of Agriculture of Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
According to CMASC Director, Rattan Lal, “Private sector support is essential. The sector must play an active role, alongside farmers, public policy makers and the scientific community, to adopt practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve carbon sequestration and mitigate climate change. Soils are part of the solution to ensure food and environmental security”.
“That is why Bayer is part of this alliance and why we believe so much in Living Soils of the Americas, because we feel that this is a solution and the way to decarbonize agriculture”, added Alessandra Fajardo of Bayer.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
