Enabling platform for the participation of male and female rice producers in carbon markets, including digital MRV [AGR-24-007]

Rationale

The agriculture sector in South America was responsible for 24.5 billion tons of methane in 2020 according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Rice production is the third contributor of the total emissions from the sector in the region.  

Water management is the primary tool for reducing methane emissions in rice cultivation. Regionally validated techniques, such as alternate wetting and frying and systematic rice intensification, exist to improve its management. 

One of the main barriers to scaling up the adoption of sustainable production practices is the lack of economic incentives available for farmers to compensate for the risk exposure associated with technological change and to highlight the benefits of incorporating practices with lower environmental impact. These economic incentives have not been generated either by the government or by economic agents for the rice sector, despite being part of the commitments made in international agreements such as, for example, the NDCs.

Objectives

This project seeks to enable rice producers in Latin America to participate in carbon markets, with a focus on both men and women. The project aims to scale up the adoption of water management techniques which are effective in reducing emissions, but face barriers due to economic risks and gender inequalities. 

By developing a national roadmap and a digital MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) business model, the project will create economic incentives for farmers, encourage sustainable practices, and ensure gender-sensitive approaches. 

The project also focuses on building the capacity of stakeholders, including women, to support the transformation of the rice sector and foster methane removal through collaborative efforts across countries.

The project seeks specifically to: 

• Develop a national roadmap outlining the technical, competency, and regulatory requirements for implementing carbon markets and digital MRV mechanisms. 
• Establish specific milestones and timelines to facilitate a structured transition towards a functional and sustainable carbon market and digital MRV system. 
• Design a comprehensive business model for an MRV system that considers field data measurement, data processing, and the identification of cost-effective MRV standards and methodologies, inclusive of male and female rice producers. 
• Develop competencies among relevant stakeholders in the rice sector through a training and capacity-building program, gender sensitive, focused on implementing the national roadmap and the designed MRV business model. 
   

Activities

To achieve these objectives the project will:

• Collaborate with government and private sector stakeholders to develop a strategy for enabling economic incentives for the transformation of the rice sector in LAC, with gender considerations, through the implementation of carbon markets, incorporating digital MRV mechanisms. 
• Elaborate a national roadmap defining the technical, competency, and regulatory requirements, sensitive to gender, for the implementation of carbon markets and digital MRV mechanisms, tailored to the development level of each country.
• Design a monitoring, reporting and verification framework for field data measurement, processing, and the definition of MRV standards and methodologies. 

• Enhance the competencies of relevant stakeholders in the rice sector, effectively incorporating women, for the implementation of the roadmap and the development of the business model. 
  
  This will provide key actors with the knowledge and skills needed to implement mitigation approaches, training them in the proposed business model, as well as sustainable practices, emissions measurement and reporting, verification, certification, and participation in carbon markets.

   

  Project reference: Enabling platform for the participation of male and female rice producers in carbon markets, including digital MRV [AGR-24-007]