VCMI, AUDA-NEPAD launch Africa agricultural carbon platform at COP31

VCMI and AUDA-NEPAD signed an agreement at COP31 in Antalya to create a new Platform for Agricultural Carbon in Africa, aiming to channel more high-integrity carbon finance into farming. The deal comes as a new report says demand for agriculture credits has more than tripled since 2021, underscoring the sector’s financing gap and growth potential.

Why it matters: - Agriculture is central to African economies, contributing as much as 40% of GDP in some countries. - The sector receives an estimated 4% of total investment on the continent, even though it faces high climate risk. - The new platform aims to bring more carbon finance to farmers, support climate resilience, and create new income from emission reductions and removals. - Less than 1% of global climate finance reached smallholder farmers last year, leaving a major funding gap.

What happened: - The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity initiative and African Union Development Agency-NEPAD signed a partnership at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey. - The agreement launches a new Platform for Agricultural Carbon in Africa. - VCMI and AUDA-NEPAD said they will work together to increase the share of carbon credits issued in the agriculture sector. - The agreement coincided with the release of a report on agriculture carbon markets and credit demand.

The details: - AUDA-NEPAD CEO H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas said Africa has soils, rangelands and forests that can store carbon at scale while feeding a fast-growing population. - Bekele-Thomas said the partnership will help carbon markets become part of Africa’s development architecture rather than a side-stream of aid. - VCMI executive director Mark Kenber said the partnership can help climate-vulnerable rural communities across Africa tap the region’s carbon finance potential. - VCMI plans to use experience from its Partnership for Agricultural Carbon in Latin America to help African governments engage with carbon markets. - Allied Offsets said demand for global agriculture credits rose from around 1 million per year in 2021 to 3.2 million in 2026 to date. - Allied Offsets said Africa has the smallest pipeline of agricultural carbon credits compared with Latin America and Asia. - The report said Africa’s constraint is demand and buyers, not projects. - The report identified Algeria, South Africa and Tanzania as countries well positioned to generate new supply from agricultural carbon projects. - Allied Offsets forecast those three countries will account for 35% of African agriculture project volumes between now and 2050. - The report said carbon markets in Africa have tapped only 2% of their maximum capacity. - Projects with multiple benefits, including climate adaptation, can command premiums up to three times higher than projects with the lowest co-benefit scores.

Between the lines: - The partnership reflects a push to move African agriculture from a carbon-credit supply gap to a financing opportunity. - The report suggests the market problem is less about project scarcity and more about weak demand, which points to financing, policy and buyer-access barriers. - The premium on projects with adaptation co-benefits indicates buyers are placing more value on credits tied to broader development outcomes.

What's next: - VCMI and AUDA-NEPAD aim to create conditions for high-integrity carbon finance to flow into African agriculture. - The partnership is expected to focus on helping national governments overcome barriers that have limited carbon finance for the sector. - The announcement positions Africa to seek more climate finance ahead of COP32 in Ethiopia next year. - The broader goal is to mobilize new funding for farmers and rural communities before the next round of climate talks.