Developing EO-powered services to promote soil carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture

By Mollie Burns and Lotte Wilson, Technical Officers, LEAF, UK

LEAF and LEAF Marque’s role in AgriCapture WP4:

For those who don’t know, LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) is a leading global organisation delivering and promoting climate-positive, thriving, resilient, and exemplar agroecological farming through the nine principles of Integrated Farm Management (IFM). We work with stakeholders to explore new ways to deliver productivity and prosperity amongst our farmers whilst enriching the environment and engaging young people and society in a valuable and meaningful way.

Based on the principles of IFM, LEAF Marque is an environmental assurance scheme showing that food has been grown sustainably and with care for the environment. This is achieved through the Control Points in the LEAF Marque Standard which set out requirements for LEAF Marque certification. To assess the continued relevance and effectiveness of the current Standard relative to its objectives, the Standard is reviewed every 3 and 5 years. As of October 2022, the new v16.0 LEAF Marque Standard was published.

As part of our role within the AgriCapture project, LEAF Marque has been solely responsible for the support and delivery of Work Package (WP) 4: ‘Developing EO-powered services to promote soil carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture’. This WP consisted of reviewing existing Standards, including LEAF Marque, the feasibility of new Standards, and how they could define and certify the use of Earth Observation (EO), and regenerative agricultural practices. Additionally, interviews were carried out with various stakeholder groups; those involved included producers, Certification Bodies (CBs), Standard setters, and a drone pilot.

Methodologies:

The report is separated into two sections:

• Section 1 is comprised of a literature review that focuses on EO and how the technology is currently used and implemented in various industry sectors. Section 1 also discusses the results from reviewing whether environmental Standards incorporate EO as part of their assurance schemes, further delving into the six core principles of regenerative agriculture.
• Section 2 is an accumulation of stakeholder interview responses, as previously discussed, to pre-determined questions regarding the use of EO and regenerative principles in certification schemes and on-farms. The interviews were carried out over 2 months and each interview was scheduled for 1 hour per interviewee.

The Results of WP4:

Regenerative agriculture

To summarise the findings for WP4, it was concluded that the term and requirements for regenerative agriculture differed greatly. Whilst some Standards referenced the six core principles, others did not. Agroforestry, reduced or no tillage, retaining crop residues, and the inclusion of perennial crops were stated as significantly crucial as regenerative practices but also to supporting carbon sequestration in a changing climate. Restoring and maintaining soil fertility was also considered to be crucial and can be achieved by the range of recommended regenerative principles discussed.

The results from the interviews with producers, CBs, Standard setters, and a drone pilot concluded that, overall, environmental Standards should be incorporating greater requirements for regenerative practices to keep up to date with industry concerns regarding current, conventional farming approaches. Whilst the majority agreed, the stakeholders suggested a lack of knowledge prevents farmers from uptake, noting that additional support and guidance is required from assurance systems. Financial losses were also stated as being a key deterrent with producers agreeing that regenerative methods would be ‘trial and error’. Financial incentives were discussed as a good motive to encourage greater uptake. Whilst there were a range of challenges, stakeholders also noted the environmental benefits such as the protection of biodiversity, as well as improvements to soil health and fertility. Opportunities for carbon sequestration were also highlighted in the interviews as potential long-term financial gains.

Earth Observation (EO)

EO has proven to have beneficial applications on-farm and within environmental conservation. It has been applied to measure aspects including the Leaf Area Index (LAI), and green cover, as well as monitoring deforestation and changes in land use. Whilst it has been successful in these areas, it has been discussed through the interviews that there are challenges in the communication from research to on-farm action. For example, there is a lack of guidance around the use and application of EO, particularly amongst small-scale producers. The varying costs of data, understanding of the tool and its capabilities, and gauging technological possibilities and progression were all highlighted as primary barriers to implementation. Further to this, CBs and Standard setters mentioned concerns surrounding the upskilling and technical knowledge to develop EO-based Standards, as well as the accuracy and reliability of sources. There was also concern that EO would not be accessible to all producers, which would cause isolation and exclusion in certain geographical locations. Additionally, concerns were raised by producers as to the cost/benefit of EO with financial return, the provision of actionable data, and privacy issues as well as mindset barriers for uptake. 

Certification is a complex procedure and the logistics of implementation on a global level are challenging. To include EO in this, a high degree of coordination and continuous review would be required, with multiple stakeholders; whilst there is potential for collaboration between Standards, a globalised definition of EO and regenerative agriculture would be required.

Further Research:

Overall, the AgriCapture project has concluded that further research is needed to understand whether EO can be integrated into assurance schemes. In its current capacity, there are various barriers to implementation, however, a cost breakdown involved from data collection to on-farm audits could offer more transparency for its use. Additionally, processes for the evolution of Standards place a burden of proof for innovations to demonstrate their value, which is in all perspectives, a long-term endeavour. It was also discovered that despite the general agreement for environmental Standards to increase the number of regenerative agriculture requirements, the challenges and barriers outlined within the research should be considered.