Carbon Farming Initiative has potential for regional Australia

Published: 11th October 2012

RDA Orana (New South Wales) is preparing the region to become a carbon farming hub, having put in place a carbon trading template and annual Carbon Farming Conference.

This years Carbon Farming Conference will be held in Dubbo on 23—24 October 2012. The theme of the event is ‘Profiting from the Carbon Farming Revolution’ and it is aimed at educating and providing information on the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). The conference will assist farmers in preparing for a new voluntary trading opportunity.

The CFI is a voluntary Australian Government carbon offset scheme to help farmers and land managers earn additional income from reducing emissions such as nitrous oxide and methane and sequestering carbon in vegetation and soils through changes to agricultural and land management practices.

By participating in the CFI, farmers and land managers that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or sequester carbon will be able to generate credits for this abatement that can then be sold to other individuals and businesses wishing to ‘offset’ their own GHG emissions.

The program will allow farmers, landholders and councils to benefit from carbon trade by developing projects which are governed by ‘methodologies’ and which lead to the proponents earning a ‘carbon credit’  which can then be sold on the market in Australia, as well as overseas.

The Australian Government has allocated funding towards the program where regional farmers will have the option to take advantage of funding to plant trees for carbon trading. Other incentives are also becoming available including better fertiliser use, and storing carbon back into the soils.

“We have made a great start on helping our farmers and landholders benefit from carbon trading,” said John Walkom, the Chair of RDA Orana.

“For the last three years, RDA Orana have hosted the Carbon Farming Conference and expo in Dubbo. RDA Orana are very committed to the carbon farming initiative, and now we have the first carbon neutral trucking company, right here in Dubbo.

“Our region now has both the supply side, farmers that can create credits, as well as the demand side, who can buy credits from Australian farmers.

“If we can trade this carbon within our region, the money will stay in our region. There will be jobs created, and we can build an industry to support the community,” concluded John.

For more information about the Carbon Farming Initiative, visit the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website.

For more information, visit the RDA Orana website.