Agreement signed at COP31 to launch new Platform for Agricultural Carbon in Africa

Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity initiative and African Union Development Agency join forces as report finds demand for agriculture credits tripled since 2021

ANTALYA, TURKEY, November 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new Platform for Agricultural Carbon in Africa will be launched under an agreement signed at the COP31 climate talks in Antalya to help boost climate resilience for the Africa’s farmers.

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity initiative (VCMI) and African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) formalised the partnership during a high-level event, committing to work together to increase the share of carbon credits issued in the agriculture sector.

“Africa has natural assets few places on earth can match – soils, rangelands and forests capable of storing carbon at scale, while feeding a fast-growing population. For too long, the value of our assets has been realised elsewhere," said H.E Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD.

“This partnership will help carbon markets take their rightful place within Africa’s development architecture. They will no longer be a side-stream of aid, but a source of international investment that puts farmers first.”

Agriculture is a critical sector for African economies, contributing as much as 40 per cent of GDP in some countries, while receiving an estimated four per cent of all investment on the continent despite its high exposure to climate risks. It is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, representing a significant yet often overlooked opportunity to improve climate resilience while generating carbon credits.

The agreement to launch the Platform for Agricultural Carbon in Africa will focus on creating the conditions for high-integrity carbon finance to flow into African agriculture, strengthening farmers’ resilience, driving adaptation, and generating new income from emission reductions and removals.

“This partnership will help climate-vulnerable rural communities across Africa by tapping into the region’s vast potential to generate carbon finance,” said Mark Kenber, executive director of VCMI.

“VCMI will apply its experience of supporting governments to engage with carbon markets through the Partnership for Agricultural Carbon in Latin America. By working closely with AUDA-NEPAD, we aim to help African national governments overcome the barriers holding back more carbon finance for agriculture.”

The agreement coincided with the release of a new report that found demand for global agriculture credits more than tripled from around one million per year in 2021 to 3.2 million in 2026 to date.

Africa currently has the smallest pipeline of agricultural carbon credits compared to Latin America and Asia but is lacking demand and buyers, rather than projects, according to Africa’s Carbon Market Opportunity in Agriculture: Supply, Demand and Pathways to Scale, released by Allied Offsets.

The report identified Algeria, South Africa and Tanzania, as some of the countries best positioned to generate a new supply of carbon credits for agricultural projects in Africa. These three countries are currently forecasted to cover 35 per cent of the volumes generated by African agriculture projects between today and 2050.

While carbon markets in Africa have seen significant growth in recent years, the market has tapped only two per cent of its maximum capacity.

Projects in the voluntary market with multiple benefits, including climate adaptation, are already commanding a premium that can be up to three-fold higher than those with the lowest co-benefit scores.

With less than one per cent of global climate finance reaching smallholder farmers last year, the new partnership between VCMI and AUDA-NEPAD offers hope of mobilizing new sources of finance between COP31 and COP32 in Ethiopia next year.

Donna Bowater
Marchmont Communications
donna@marchmontcomms.com