Introducing new farming practices for carbon sink

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Soil project seeks to soak up excess carbon

by Tania Rabesandratana

“It’s a bit of a scientific dream, but we have a lot of evidence that supports this dream.” Jean-Paul Moatti, French Research Institute for Development

Speed read

• 4 Pour 1000 initiative aims to lock away carbon through better farming
• It encourages simple steps such as tree planting and adding manure
• Project hopes to do enough to offset all human emissions

France is leading a worldwide push to increase the amount of carbon locked in soils through better farming practices.

Supporters of an initiative launched at the COP 21 summit say this would limit global warming by removing carbon from the atmosphere, while also increasing the range and amount of food farmers produce by improving soil fertility. This would particularly benefit developing countries, according to representatives of the 4 Pour 1000 initiative.

“It’s a bit of a scientific dream, but we have a lot of evidence that supports this dream,” Jean-Paul Moatti, the chief executive officer of the French Research Institute for Development, one of the organisations behind the plan, said yesterday on the sidelines of the talks in Paris, France.

Increasing carbon stocks in the top 40 centimetres of soil by four parts per 1,000 (0.4 per cent) each year would compensate for carbon emissions from human activity, the project description says, provided deforestation is halted.

Read the full article: SciDevNet