India - VCCSL

This Plan Vivo-certified project run by VCCSL in India is helping over 1500 poverty-stricken smallholder sweet lime and mango farmers. These farmers, based in Andhra Pradesh, the district of Anantapur, are having to deal dealing with degraded lands, low productivity and technical barriers.

With VCCSL and Acorn's assistance, they are currently transitioning approximately 1000 ha of their land to agroforestry. The planting of mango, sweet lime, jackfruit, and tamarind trees using sustainable land management practices, such as eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers, will restore soil and build the resilience of farmers, their families and the community to natural calamities.

• Project summary ADD PDF (version October 2022)

The agroforestry transition project led by VCCSL was established in 2018. From the start of their project, until the time they connected with Acorn in 2021, VCCSL promised farmers carbon credits as a reward for implementing and maintaining long-term agroforestry. The intention of creating such a project where farmers are compensated for their sustainable practices arose from the experience VCCSL has in securing carbon credits for farmers in other agricultural projects in India.

The first trees were planted just after the onset of the monsoon in 2018. Due to the limited amount of free and subsidized seedlings on offer to farmers each year, farmers plant trees over an average period of 5 years until they reach a density of 150-200 trees per hectare, depending on the effort involved and resources needed by each farmer.

The trees planted by the farmers have been chosen based on traditional knowledge found among the farmers and their community, as well as on agronomical expert advice to ensure carbon sequestration, marketable products and nutritious food sources. The carbon credits farmers receive for the trees planted in the project are ex-post based and will only be derived from one year before CRU issuance.

As a result of project intervention, the increased yield, marketable tree products, and additional carbon finance will help alleviate poverty in the project area and ensure farmers do not have to seek other employment opportunities away from their farms and families.

Full project documentation available upon request.