Imagine if farmers were paid not just for the corn they grow, but also for keeping the air clean and the water pure. Right now, doing the right thing for nature often costs farmers money without any reward. This work creates a way to measure those hidden benefits and turn them into a steady paycheck for the land manager.
Land managers lose money when investing in soil health because the environmental benefits (like clean water) have no market price. This creates a financial gap that prevents the adoption of sustainable farming.
A quantitative bio-economic model and a toolbox of incentives and policy recommendations to make soil health profitable.
If you are a consultancy dealing with farmers who lack incentives to invest in soil health — this project developed a toolbox of incentives that helps land managers capture value from non-marketed services.
If you are an investor dealing with the difficulty of verifying environmental impact — this project developed monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) methods to ensure soil-based ecosystem services are actually delivered.
If you are a forestry company dealing with the cost of maintaining land quality — this project developed 6 testing grounds to prove business models where you get paid for carbon sequestration and water filtration.
Based on available project data, specific pricing or implementation costs are not provided; the project focuses on designing the incentive schemes and tools.
The project is testing these models across 6 testing grounds in Europe and establishing 12 communities of practice to help upscale the models.
Based on available project data, there is no mention of specific patents or licensing terms for the resulting toolbox and assessment tools.
The project aims to design an institutional framework consisting of necessary legislation, standards, and incentive schemes to govern these activities.
The project period runs from 2023-01-01 to 2026-12-31, suggesting that final tools and recommendations will be available by the end of 2026.
The consortium is well-balanced for commercialization, featuring 14 partners from 9 countries. With a 29% industry ratio (including 4 industry partners and 2 SMEs), there is a strong link between the 3 universities and 4 research centers and the actual market players who will use these soil health models.
Contact the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium for details on the assessment tools.
Contact us to connect with the 12 communities of practice for early access to the incentive toolbox.
