This session highlighted two case studies of quantifying GHGs for impact using the Cool Farm Tool. Axelle Bodoy, Global Milk CO2 – GHG manager at Danone
shared how Danone is using the CFT to quantify and develop a GHG strategy to help meet Danone’s corporate goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. For Danone, milk is 50 percent of full scope of emissions. Those emissions come from:
- feed production
- manure
- farm energy
- Enteric methane
Axelle shared that Danone’s exercise using the CFT resulted in more than just a simple baseline measurement but real insight into the opportunities and levers for reduction in each typology of farm size and system. The use of the CFT led to a very different type of conversation with the different producers as they discussed the actions that could be applied on the farm alongside productivity choices.
Rodolfo García, Country Representative MX and Program Manager of Coffee & Palm Oil from Solidaridad shared CFT results from a GHG quantification work done with coffee producers in Chiapas. Solidaridad approached the pilot to answer two questions:
- How to generate reliable data for GHG emissions with smallholders?
- What practices generate most emissions?
Once they discovered where the primary emissions were coming from they developed a strategy for increasing Climate Smart Coffee, combining both mitigation and adaptation goals. The strategy included improvements in
- Productivity and quality – by increasing intensity of trees per/ha and installing processing infrastructure for drying.
- Adaptation – diversification of income streams by introducing other crops on farms.
- Mitigation – reduction and diversion of waste water (the largest source of emissions) into bio gas digesters with the added benefit of being able to use the methane gas as a fuel source for cooking and at the same time reducing wood use for energy purposes.
And the results:
- Reduction of GHG emission at the farm level = 74%
- Increase productivity at farm level – 333%
- Improve the quality- 30%
To make the GHG quantification relevant to farmers, Solidaridad led with adaptation first, and mitigation as a “nice to have” and placed emphasis on direct and multiplying benefits for producers and communities such as biogas digesters as a solution to the emissions from the coffee processing water. Solidaridad identified the lack of a business case for the additional quantification as a key challenge, along with the lack of financial products that fit the needs of producers to engage in mitigation activities without the market demand for the benefits.
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