Soil Capital completes payment of £ 3,000,000 for 400 farmers involved in a soil regeneration programme

London, July 11, 2023 - Three years after the launch of Soil Capital Carbon, the agronomy firm’s programme for regenerative and more profitable agriculture, Soil Capital is making its second carbon payment to farmers. The programme rewards farming practices that improve soil health and sequester carbon in the soil, whether by planting cover crops, reducing tillage, using organic fertilizers, diversifying rotations or agroforestry.

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Soil Capital was founded on the conviction that farmers should be recognised, supported and remunerated for their essential contribution to tackling environmental challenges as well as producing healthy and nutritious food. Carbon measurement is an excellent proxy for soil health and for the ecosystem services it provides. The Soil Capital Carbon programme generates a new revenue for farms in transition to regenerative agricultural practices by monetising additional carbon sequestration and emissions reductions. Since it was launched, Soil Capital has been supported by companies like Royal Canin, Cargill, AB InBev whose supply chains depend on agricultural raw materials, and who want to build healthy and sustainable supply chains. Other buyers like IBA are motivated by the opportunity to support farmers local to their operations that are regenerating their soils and contributing to climate action.

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In June 2022, 100 arable farmers in France and Belgium received payments that accompanied their carbon certification totalling nearly £1,000,000. In 2023, 400 farmers have received payments totalling nearly £3,000,000. There are now more than 1,000 farmers enrolled in the programme overall (600 new farmers have joined in recent months).

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For the most recent payment in 2023, Soil Capital has secured a minimum value for each carbon certificate at £23/tonne CO 2 e. An additional payment will be made to these 400 farmers once all the certificates for this season have been sold.

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Chuck de Liedekerke, co-founder and CEO of Soil Capital: "This second round of carbon payments is a crucial gauge of whether or not our programme is on the right track or not. It has been a real success, confirming that we are responding to a need both on the side of farmers and on companies that has never really been addressed in a concrete, pragmatic way. I'd like to highlight the remarkable work of our own agronomy teams; it's the quality of their analysis, their advice and the relationships they forge with farmers, during their field tours in particular, that has enabled us to grow with the support of so many partners in the industry."

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Media contacts:

Shahan Sheikholeslami - Ops

Shahan@ops-conseil.com / +33 6 26 28 62 79

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About Soil Capital

Founded in 2013, Soil Capital is a B Corp company whose mission is to support farmers in adopting more profitable and regenerative practices for the soil. Operating in France, Belgium and the UK, Soil Capital has developed a carbon programme based on an online greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment platform to help farmers make the regenerative transition. The programme rewards the environmental services provided by farmers, while bringing them into contact with companies that are committed to contributing to a more resilient agricultural system. Soil Capital enables farmers to certify their carbon, while giving (agri-food) companies the guarantees of a reliable certification programme and methodology and thus the means to make a concrete commitment to a sourcing approach that actively improves the health of farmland soils. Soil Capital certificates align with SBTi FLAG requirements, are measurable and verified by third parties. They are also rooted in agronomy and the reality of farmers.