Carbon Farming MED

The Carbon Farming MED project is dedicated to aiding Mediterranean countries in meeting the EU's 2035 climate mitigation objectives, specifically targeting climate neutrality in agriculture. This initiative promotes a resilient and sustainable agricultural production system by enabling farmers to adopt carbon farming as a green business model, generating additional revenue, optimising regenerative agricultural and agroforestry practices, and utilising the carbon credits market.

Key Objectives of the Project:

• Development of a Carbon Farming Framework: Tailoring strategies to regional conditions to integrate the best regenerative practices. A comprehensive monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system ensures profitability and sustainability.
• Establishment of a Mediterranean Carbon Credits Market: Initiating the first regional market for trading carbon credits, providing a structured platform for reliable transactions.
• Creation of a Technological Platform: Developing an IT platform to support the verification processes for carbon credits, facilitating market entry for farmers and transactions between buyers and sellers.
• Implementation of Best Practices: Adapting and promoting regenerative agricultural techniques to increase soil organic carbon, making carbon farming a viable business for farmers.

The primary output of the Carbon Farming MED project is the creation of the first cross-border platform in the Mediterranean to support the buying and selling of carbon credits. This platform is essential for promoting carbon farming as a viable green business model, facilitating the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, and supporting the EU's climate neutrality goals by enhancing carbon removals.

Key partners include institutions from Spain (Balmes University Foundation, UVIC-UCC; Azolla Projects), Italy (Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, CREA), Greece (Technical University of Crete, TUC), France (Agrofood Innovation and Technology transfer center Sud, CRITT IAA Sud; Euroregion Pyrenees Mediterranean, EPM; European Agroforestry Federation, EURAF), Slovenia (Institute for Health and Environment, IHE), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Center for Energy, Environment and Resources, CENER 21).

Coordination of the project is led by UVIC-UCC’s Beta Technological Center, ensuring thorough alignment and integration of all project activities.

Project duration: From 1 January 2024 to 30 September 2026

The Carbon Farming MED project is co-founded by the European Union.

The total value of the Carbon Farming Med project is EUR 2,789,472.36, with an estimated Interreg co-financing of EUR 2,231,577.88, of which the IHE is eligible for a grant of EUR 283,985.20.

Naša vloga pri projektu

In the project, IHE will take on the role of Communication Leader and leader of Work Package 2, which focuses on testing agroforestry and regenerative farming techniques. IHE will also lead the following key activities:

• Adaptation of the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system of carbon credits in the Mediterranean region.
• Development of guidelines based on analyses of good practices from other countries.
• Preparation of guidelines and recommendations.
• Raising awareness and online communication through digital and social media.

IHE will also be involved in a number of other project activities, including research on carbon farming and adaptation of the agricultural model to incorporate carbon credits. As the leader of the work package, IHE will also play an important role as a coordinator. 

Expected project results related to our role include the successful adaptation of the MRV system for carbon credits in the Mediterranean region, the development of clear and practical guidelines based on analyses of good practices from other countries, and the preparation of recommendations that will support sustainable agriculture. In addition, we will strive to increase awareness and engagement among stakeholders through targeted communication, which will contribute to the broader recognition of the project, its activities, and results.