But it will take government subsidies which in Canada are lagging other nations also meaning our farmers are left at a competitive disadvantage in global markets.
Agriculture currently generates only one per cent of carbon credits globally while accounting for 18 per cent of global global greenhouse gas emissions, the report says.
What’s needed are subsidies for farming practices that sequester carbon and a market for trading carbon credits, the authors said.
For carbon trading to work, there needs to be a tool to measure farming’s contributions to carbon sequestration and an independent third party to verity and report the data.
As for subsidies, the report says some could come from companies that buy produce from farmers. They could advertise their wares as environmentally sustainable and be able to charge consumers more.
But only 10 per cent of consumers are likely to pay the higher prices for sustainable farming practices, albeit 25 per cent of agri-business companies said they are willing to participate.
Government subsidies would need to be the main driver, but in Canada climate-related funding is less than half of one per cent of total farm receipts which are $63 billion per year. That compares with 1.8 per cent of total farm receipts of $669 billion in the European Union and 1.7 per cent of $545 billion in the United States.
The report notes that the federal government has called for consultations on a sustainable agriculture policy.
“This should provide decisive targets on emissions reductions across the spectrum of farming activities and clear direction on what qualifies as a sustainable agriculture practice,” the report said.
The policy should define how Canada and the provinces can best value, manage, and improve their soil for the next 15 years through clearly-defined soil health targets and MRVs (measurement, reporting and verification).
It says the policy should launch demonstration-scale programs through public-private initiatives that can determine how to lower the cost of MRVs and soil sampling.
And it should assist farmers with the upfront costs of soil sampling which would offset the financial risks of transitioning to sustainable farming.
The report calls for a national soil data-sharing program, made easily accessible to farmers, which would identify what practices work best in each province and region.
This could be part of the provincial Environment Farm Plan programs helping to develop local schemes to keep agricultural soil sustainable.
As examples of what Canadian governments could do to help farmers, it suggests discounts for crop insurance premiums when farmers start planting cover crops which typically lower yields for a few years.
There could be tax breaks, such as accelerated depreciation for adopting costly technologies.
And the governments could establish a fund to purchase carbon credits which would be an incentive for farmers to participate.
