AgroNum as an alternative metric of SA
I read with great interest Robert Höglund's "Removing Carbon Now" paper (https://lnkd.in/eMG5sFur). The soil carbon sequestration section (pages 10-12) reminds us that there is no real consensus as to how to measure soil carbon sequestration at the field-plot level, let alone which cropping practices are necessarily most effective in any given place or time. More so, there is the risk of non-additionality since farmers should be adopting soil conservation & best cropping-practicies anyway, with or without payments.
Polyor SAS's AgroNum approach to sustainable agriculture (https://lnkd.in/eBmfT3NM) gets around these limitations by setting sustainable target grain yields on the basis of nitrogen-fertilizer use efficiencies (NfUE), regardless of cropping practices. This, without direct soil-carbon sampling & monitoring. Sustainable grain-yield response to N-fertilization is estimated precisely at the plot level using a robuste AI algorithme. Target yields are set using plot-specific N-fertilizer response curves. An iAgroNum index of sustainability is then generated as an alternative to conventional carbon offset & removal metrics presently used in environmental accounting.
Though AgroNum circumvents the aforesaid methodological and additionality problems, the payment issue remains. Interestingly, AgroNum target yields are on average 25 to 33% higher than regional averages traditionally used as proxies for yield & N-fertilizer recommendations. In addition to providing farmers with additional income in lieu of conventional carbon credits, these yield increases sit well with the need to reduce existing yield gaps in European cereal production (Schils et al. 2018 ; https://lnkd.in/erGxsh_r).
#sustainability #sustainableagriculture #soilconservation #eucarbonremoval #issb #ifrs #durabilité #carbonfarming #ai #agriculture
