CDRfarm

Carbon farming includes agricultural practices such as agroforestry, the use of biochar, and farming methods that protect soil structure (conservation agriculture). These approaches can store carbon in soils and trees and thereby contribute to carbon dioxide removal. So far, however, they have been adopted by relatively few farmers and land managers. Known barriers include a lack of information, complicated bureaucracy, insufficient support, and unclear or conflicting regulations.

What is needed to scale up carbon farming?

CDRfarm investigates what stands in the way of wider carbon farming adoption and how these barriers can be overcome. The project brings together existing knowledge and uses model simulations to close knowledge gaps. At the same time, it develops detailed profiles of different carbon farming options and a decision support tool for farmers, advisors, and policymakers.

The profiles address three key questions: What can a particular carbon farming practice achieve, and what does it require in terms of skills, equipment, and markets? How do financial risks, access to funding, and advisory services affect implementation on farms? And which incentives, payment schemes, and legal frameworks are needed?

Carbon farming at a larger scale

CDRfarm also develops scenarios for how carbon farming could be implemented at a larger scale and investigates potential implications for Germany’s carbon balance, global markets, and sustainability goals.

Workshops with farmers, policymakers, and industry associations bring scientific findings together with practical experience and requirements. In this way, the project aims to improve understanding of the conditions needed for wider implementation of carbon farming in Germany and beyond.

By integrating innovative ventilation systems with built-in DAC systems into people’s daily lives in the future, everyone could make a tangible contribution to CO₂ capture simply by breathing.