Africa's Path to Sustainability: Harnessing Carbon Markets to Empower Communities and African Society

By Peter Kinuthia Murimi

Africa is still considered the host of developing and least developed countries in the world, with most still grappling with the issues of poverty and hunger, and climate change, which need urgent attention. From an economic perspective, scholars have indicated that Africa’s biggest potential lies in its natural resources, with a prime example being its land, and how the continent’s population depends on it for farming. However, apart from growing and selling agricultural produce, millions of smallholders farmers in Africa can benefit from billions in the larger carbon credit market.

Are you aware that the current worth of carbon market in the world stands at $176 billion?

According to the Deputy Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for African Office, Dr. Richard Munang, African only receives 5.5% of global financing. There is a great need for scientists, agroecologists, environmentalists, and agriculturalists to position African countries and especially smallholder farmers to benefit from the carbon financing and carbon credits in the world. Carbon financing dominates most of the Conference of Parties (COPs) discussions every year. However, there is no discussion of strategies on how developing and least developed countries can be positioned to tap into the billion-dollar worth of carbon credit markets.

On close analysis, it is evident that internal mechanisms that the individual African countries are using or have adopted to achieve food security and economic development in relation to developed nations, are not working despite being in 21st Century. The overwhelming dependence on food relief organizations and agencies such as the World Food Programme and the United States AID (USAID) is a clear indication that African countries are yet to resolve the food security crisis issue on their own. Yet it could be argued that Africa holds the majority of subsistence and commercial farmers, with the entire continent and global markets benefitting from exported produce.

The world, and African states included are currently facing the challenges of climate change. In a country such as Kenya, agri- culture and farming contributes to about 70% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This means that in an African country like Kenya with up to 50 million citizens, 70% of this population are critically dependent on farming and agriculture for livelihood. However, most African countries are involved in the production and export of agricultural raw products, produce, and materials, which fetch low value in the larger global market. Comparatively, countries in developed regions such as Europe produce electronics and digital gadgets that are critical to the current globalization process.

Dissecting how carbon credits works

You may ask what carbon credits are and how they can empower small holder farmers in an African society. Carbon credits generated by a project are sold on the international carbon market to the entities whose operations results in generation of considerable emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), and especially carbon. Most companies contributing to considerable revenues in western countries generate significant amounts of GHGs. These entities are required to show their commitment to sustainability, and one of the most feasible approaches is purchasing carbon credits to allow them to continue emitting GHGs as they work on greening their operations.

Revenue generated from the sale of these credits is then channeled back to the individuals and beneficiaries, including participating smallholder farmers. In some African countries, this may involve community-based organizations (CBOs), in agroforestry, where they farm indigenous forests as a way of protecting them from illegal logging. This creates an additional income stream for the farmers, allowing them to improve their livelihoods, re-invest in their farms, and adapt to climate change.

Some of the organizations in Kenya have already positioned themselves to empower farmers and take advantage of the carbon markets. One of such organizations includes Kenya Tea Development Agency. Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) is a cooperative organization that bring together over 650,000 smallholder tea farmers in Kenya. KTDA alongside thousands of smallholder farmers are on the process of implementing a carbon credit project called the Tea Industry Climate Resilience Project. The project entails the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and reducing emissions and supporting these farmers overcome the impacts of climate change. Through this project, KTDA generates carbon credits that are sold on the international carbon market, providing additional income for smallholder farmers.

Feasibility in an African context

Farmers across Africa are now benefitting from carbon markets through carbon credit earnings. In 2014, through the technical support from the World Bank, up to 64,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya benefitted from carbon credit, which was first of its kind in Africa (World Bank, 2014). These smallholder farmers owned a total acreage of up to 45,000 hectares and were guided on how to adopt sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) that facilitated the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere and back into the soil. In the course of their farming and adoption of these sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) practices, these farmers managed to sequestrate up to 184,788 metric tons of carbon (IV) oxide, which equates to what approximately 5,164 vehicles emit every year whenever they move on the road (World Bank, 2014). It is worth noting that these carbon credits that these farmers were estimated to be worth about 600, 000 $ by the 2017.

Smallholder farmers across Africa can benefit from increased income and improved livelihoods through participation in carbon projects as demonstrated above. However, they need technical support from scientists and agro-ecologists, as well as access to climate related-funds which would enable these farmers to invest in productivity-enhancing technologies, diversify their income sources, and adapt to climate change impacts.

Further, carbon credits and related financing can promote gender equality and women empowerment by ensuring women's participation and empowerment in climate-resilient agriculture. Women play a crucial role in African agriculture as they are the biggest percentage of the farming workforce, and their inclusion in carbon projects can result in an improved decision-making, income distribution, and community empowerment. It is time to channel our knowledge and technical expertise in agroecology, ensuring that we have smallholder farmers that are empowered and informed on how to be part of the fight against climate change and contribute to sustainable development by harnessing the potential of global carbon markets. Corporations in African can act as agents to this realization by adopting corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies that would empower smallholder farmers and also the organizations themselves. What most of these farmers need is technical support, training, sensitization, and guidance on how to adopt sustainable agricultural practices in their farms, which would serve to combat climate change and empower the communities through carbon credits.