Yara East Africa has announced plans to partner with local farmers to implement carbon trading as a way of supporting the Government’s efforts to combat climate change.

Country Manager William Ng’eno says the plan will also involve county governments to implement sustainable agricultural practices.

“The Carbon credits concept, which involves planting trees, helps farmers both individual and in organizations, indirectly reduce their carbon footprint when they cannot directly reduce emissions on their own,” says Ng’eno.

Ng’eno spoke at the end of the County Executive Committee (CEC) Members for agriculture meeting held under the banner of the Council of Governors in Mombasa.

“Yara East Africa is already mobilising farmers and farmer organisations, research institutions, government agencies as well as civil society sector to implement crop improvement strategies for food security and environmental protection,” he added.

Currently, Kenya is the leading exporter of carbon credits in Africa and is one of the countries set to benefit from carbon credit production to create jobs and protect biodiversity.

This will be implemented through the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) launched at COP27 led by a 13-member steering committee of African leaders, CEOs, and carbon credit experts.

The ambitious plan for the continent targets to reach 300 million credits offered annually by 2030. This level of supplies would unlock US$6 billion in income and support 30 million jobs.

Speaking at the last CoP27 meet in Egypt, President William Ruto also revealed the country’s plans to up its carbon credit exports.

“This is why we call for simplified, more transparent carbon market systems that directly benefit communities and not just intermediaries,” said the President.

The induction conference on agriculture and food security was also addressed by Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi, Mining and Blue Economy CS Salim Mvurya, as well as Governors Ken Lusaka and Issa Timamy who chair the COG committees for Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives, and Blue Economy, respectively.