ProducePay and ALLCOT to launch carbon offset program for produce growers

ProducePay has partnered with the sustainability solutions company Allcot to create a carbon offset program developed specifically for growers of primary crops, according to a news release.

ProducePay’s new carbon offset program, the release said, is the first component of the company’s "Sustainably Sourced" initiative. The initiative, when fully launched later this year, will be the first-ever worldwide sustainable produce supply chain standard created to establish an efficient, profitable, responsible and sustainable fresh produce ecosystem, the company said.

A recent feasibility study ProducePay conducted in consultation with Allcot to assess the carbon market potential of five produce growers revealed that each grower was well poised to be a future participant in the global carbon market. 

While voluntary carbon markets have been created for the forestry sector and large field crops such as wheat and soybeans in the U.S., the release said there has been little understanding of the potential role of the $1.3 trillion global produce sector in helping to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to the release.

The study, which examined farms in the U.S. and Mexico growing asparagus, grapes and strawberries, indicated that the growers were already performing many of the sustainable agricultural practices needed for decarbonization and ultimately selling verifiable carbon credit offsets in the international market.

“Too often, produce growers are left behind when it comes to the innovation and modernization of the agricultural industry,” Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck, CEO and founder of ProducePay, said in the release. “These growers are sitting on a lucrative opportunity to make thousands, if not millions, of dollars in residual income that will not only help the world mitigate climate change, but also create a more resilient future for them, as these growers are often the most impacted by climate change. We want to empower produce farmers to be on the frontlines of carbon markets, not on the sidelines.”

 The release said Allcot has provided ProducePay with recommendations for helping its small-to-medium growers develop a roadmap for adopting additional infrastructure and carbon-smart practices, such as pressurized irrigation systems, alternative farming inputs and implementing water desalination technology, to become fully compliant with carbon market practices. 

ProducePay expects its carbon offset program to be a new service offered to growers in its marketplace later this year. Allcot has also ensured that ProducePay’s carbon offset program will meet the rigorous international standards of their carbon verification, according to the release.

“It’s been an honor to join ProducePay in this transformational initiative for the agricultural sector,” Natalia Rodrigo Vega, chief business development officer with Allcot, said in the release. “We are excited to lend our expertise and rigor in the climate markets space to establish ProducePay’s carbon offset program. Our efforts will equip growers to harness the power of carbon-smart practices to build their businesses, protect the environment and provide community benefits.”

Despite international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they have more than doubled since the United Nations Climate Change Convention in 1994, the release said. This increase has raised the stakes and given urgency to  ProducePay’s feasibility study, which was funded by IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the IDB Group. This funding supports ProducePay’s work to develop and implement internal strategies aligned with the objectives of sustainable development, as well as environmental and social best practices, at the international level, the release said.

ProducePay remains committed to creating sustainability for the produce industry, as well as sustainable outcomes for the environment, the company said, and the carbon offset program will be a vital contribution to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.