Louis Dreyfus, Solidaridad launch carbon harvest initiative to support climate action among Ugandan coffee farmers

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Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), one of Uganda’s leading international coffee buyers has joined forces with Solidaridad East and Central Africa to launch a carbon harvest scheme aimed at promoting climate mitigation and adaptation among coffee farmers.

Funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the project aims to train 4,500 smallholder farmers by 2027.

According to Benjamin Chastang, LDC’s representative, the initiative has been designed to provide economic incentives for countries and businesses to minimize their environmental footprint.

The scheme also focuses in reforesting deforested areas and promoting the use of biochar in coffee gardens, creating additional income opportunities for farmers.

“Farmers earn income based on the amount of carbon they offset through tree planting and the volume of biochar they generate,” said Chastang.

On her side, Flaviah Koyesiga Birungi, the Solidaridad Uganda Project Manager, highlighted that carbon will be traded alongside coffee as a market-driven approach to addressing environmental challenges.

“Our goal is to enhance climate resilience, improve livelihoods, and produce carbon-neutral coffee. We also plan to introduce small-scale biochar production to farmers and certify over 4,500 farmers under the Rainforest Alliance and LDC RSP-Advanced standards to meet the EU’s new deforestation regulations,” said Koyesiga.

By 2027, the project aims to reduce 6.15 million tons of carbon, with 5.35 million tons removed using biochar and 14.5 million tons removed through agroforestry. The initiative also intends to develop a coffee traceability tool.

The project has additional goals, such as increasing coffee yields by 30% among farmers, engaging 40% of women and youth in decision-making processes within coffee associations and households, and promoting better coffee harvesting and post-harvest handling practices.