SA farmers to earn carbon credit income via UPL Corp’s Smart Climate Ag

Source: abnodey via Unsplash

The initiative encourages regenerative agriculture practices alongside sustainable and biological inputs, allowing farmers to maintain productivity while adopting environmentally friendly methods.

Farmers can now unlock an additional income stream through verified carbon credits. During the pilot phase, 26,102 credits were issued across 2,884 hectares, providing measurable financial benefits alongside environmental gains.

How it works

Developed with carbon project developer Orizon Agriculture and certified by independent carbon standard Verra, Smart Climate Ag supports practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, lowered synthetic fertiliser use, and the application of UPL’s NPP biosolutions.

These practices improve soil health, increase carbon sequestration, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, generating verified carbon credits that farmers can sell on the voluntary market.

Farmers lead the way

Callie Meintjes, a Free State maize farmer who participated in the pilot, said: "We didn’t inherit the land we farm on from our forefathers; we are borrowing it from our children.

"And I was taught to return something I borrowed in a better condition than it was before. It’s about being sustainable producers. We must start thinking differently and broaden our perspective.”

Scaling climate-positive farming

UPL Corp plans to expand Smart Climate Ag across more crops, regions, and farmers, partnering with organisations throughout the food value chain. The programme supports UPL’s Gigaton Carbon Goal, which targets the removal of one billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2040.

Marcel Dreyer, UPL Corp’s regional head for Africa, added: "The Smart Climate Ag programme is about enabling farmers to build resilience. By helping them restore carbon to their soils, we strengthen soil health while ensuring farms remain commercially productive. The additional carbon revenue provides the farmers we serve with financial security as they adapt to a changing climate."

Impact of the pilot

The CarbonSmart pilot confirmed that regenerative practices can increase soil organic carbon, improve soil fertility and water retention, and generate carbon credits that directly benefit participating farmers financially.